•L,  B 


YbUNG 
MlSSGJDDY 


MERTRAND 

j        BOOK  S 

MO  PACIFIC 
LONG  BEACH,  CAL 


THE 

ALBATROSS  NOVELS 

By  ALBERT  ROSS 
23  Volumes 

May  be  had  wherever  books  are  sold  at  the  price  yon 
paid  for  this  volume 

Black  Adonis,  A 
Garston  Bigamy,  The 
Her  Husband's  Friend 
His  Foster  Sister 
His  Private  Character 
In  Stella's  Shadow 
Love  at  Seventy 
Love  Gone  Astray 
Moulding  a  Maiden 
Naked  Truth,  The 
New  Sensation,  A 
Original  Sinner,  An 
Out  of  Wedlock 
Speaking  of  Ellen 
Stranger  Than  Fiction 
Sugar  Princess,  A 
That  Gay  Deceiver 
Their  Marriage  Bond 
Thou  Shalt  Not 
Thy  Neighbor's  Wife 
Why  I'm  Single 
Young  Fawcett's  Mabel 
Young  Miss  Giddy 

G.  W.  DILLINGHAM  CO. 

Publisher.  ::  ::  New  York 


YOUNG  Miss  GIDDY, 


BY  ALBERT  Ross. 


AUTHOR  OF 


•WHY  I'M  SINGLE,"  "His  PRIVATE  CHARACTER,' 

"  THOU  SHALT  NOT,"  "  IN  STELLA'S  SHADOW," 

"AN  ORIGINAL  SINNER,"  ETC. 


"  Things  have  got  to  be  pretty  bad, 
haven't  they?  Were  they  always  so, 
or  has  this  age  gone  to  the  devil>  all 
by  itself?"— Page  35. 


NEW   YORK: 
G.   W.    Billing  ham  ~ Co*  Publishers. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

».  The  Poor  Girl  and  the  Rich  One ....  9 

II.  Senator  from  Van  Buren 19 

III.  "  Luvv,  what's  Luvv  ?" 32 

IV.  Esther's  Strike  for  Freedom 44 

V.  "  Marriage  is  a  nuisance." 55 

VI.  She  Would  be  a  Lady 67 

VII.  Fifteen  Million  Dollars 79 

VIII.  "  Dave,  I  am  a  devil !" 90 

IX.  A  Dinner  at  Flora's 105 

X.  "  If  a  girl  could  find  a  man" 116 

XI.  Florida  in  Winter 1*5 

XII.  Going  to  Mardi  Gras 133 

XIII.  "  You'll  see  nothing  but  '  cham.'  ". . . .  141 

XIV.  A  Glimpse  of  Hamburg 151 

XV.  "Not   on  the   morning  after." 162 

XVI.  Drunk  as  a  Fool 169 

XVII.  A  Devil  of  a  Mess 178 

XVIII.  "Marriage   is   sometimes  a  cure." 186 

XIX.  "  Esther  Strange  !     Good  God  !" 196 

XX.  Miss  Scarlett  Proposes  Marriage 207 

XXI.  "Do  you  think,  my  dear?" 218 

XXII.  Seeing  an  Old  Friend 229 

XXIII.  "  If  you  leave  it  to  me." 240 

XXIV.  In  the  Mexican  Monterey 251 

w 
2061864 


Yl  OOKTXNT8. 

Chapter  Page 

XXV.  "  Shall  I  put  out  the  light  f 258 

XXVI.  A  Night  at  Garcia 371 

XXVII.  In  the  Virgin's  Cave 179 

XXVIII.  "  I  must  confess  some  things." 187 

XXIX  "Ah!     It  is  terrible!  terrible!" 197 

XXX.  A  Surprised    Husband 304 

XXXI.  A  Freezing-Out  Process 313 

XXXII.  "  Arrest  this  man  !" 321 

XXXIII.  What  Bayley  Told  Parton 332 

A  Parting  Word 341 


TO  MY  READERS. 


Last  Mistier,  in  a  symposium  printed  in  \\\t  Boston 
Globe,  a  number  of  prominent  people  discussed  the 
question  of  chaperonage  as  applied  to  American 
girls.  One  of  them,  the  wife  of  a  well-known  gen- 
tleman, used  in  effect  the  expression  that  I  have  put 
into  the  mouth  of  Senator  Scarlett.  If  a  girl  had  a 
tendency  to  behave  improperly,  said  this  lady,  all  the 
oversight  in  the  world  would  not  be  likely  to  pre- 
vent it.  Instead  of  writing  a  letter  to  that  journal, 
giving  my  opinion  on  this  proposition,  as  I  at  first 
intended  to  do,  I  have  made  it  the  theme  of  a  novel, 
and  here  you  have  it. 

Incidentally  I  have  also  kept  a  promise  made  to 
numerous  friends  in  the  Southern  States  and  in 
Mexico,  to  introduce  local  scenes  in  a  future1  story. 
A  year  ago  I  "  followed  the  strawberry  "  a  thousand 
miles  below  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  and  could  easily 
have  written  a  book  much  larger  than  this  one  upon 
the  incidents  of  that  trip.  The  reader  will  see  how 
impossible  it  is  for  me  to  do  more  in  this  volume 
than  allude  to  the  principal  points  of  that  delightful 
\ourney. 

It  becomes  necessary  to  remind  some  of  my  kind 
correspondents  that  the  enclosure  of  a  stamp  is  con- 
sidered good  form  when  a  reply  is  desired.  So  far 

NQ 


TJN  10  XT   HEADERS. 

I  hare  tried  to  answer  all  letters,  briefly,  though 
they  sometimes  amount  to  a  dozen  a  week,  and  the 
postage  for  the  thoughtless  ones  is  quite  an  item. 
And  let  me  say  another  thing  in  this  connection.  If 
an  autograph  is  the  thing  desired  it  is  just  as  easy 
to  say  so  as  to  ask  where  my  novels  can  be  purchased. 
This  amusing  inquiry  comes  to  me  almost  every  day, 
and  I  am  a  little  tired  of  replying  with  the  single 
word  "  Everywhere,"  which  is  the  modest  fact. 
Besides,  it  does  not  make  a  pretty  response  for 
exhibition  purposes. 

A  Happy  New  Vear  to  all  is  the  heartfelt  wish  ot 
the  author. 

ALBERT  Ross. 

Cambridge  Jfax. 


YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  POOR   GIRL   AND    THE   RICH   ONE. 

The  daughter  of  the  millionaire,  Augustus  Scar* 
lett,  was  entering  her  carriage  at  the  family  mansion 
on  Fifty-second  street.  This  young  lady,  though 
only  fifteen  years  of  age,  was  attended  in  her  daily 
life  with  a  retinue  of  servants  that  would  have  been 
quite  sufficient  for  a  princess.  The  carriage  she  was 
now  about  to  use  was  kept  for  her  exclusively.  The 
horses,  the  coachman,  the  footman,  the  chaperone, 
the  maid, — the  very  lap-dog  that  was  going  with 
her,— were  never  claimed  by  any  other  member  of 
the  household.  Her  father  had  his  own  equipages, 
which  she  often  shared  with  him,  but  she  had  hers, 
always  ready  at  her  command,  in  case  she  chose  to 
ride  when  he  was  otherwise  occupied.  Her  only 
brother,  Charles,  never  rode  but  in  public  convey- 
ances, except  on  those  rare  occasions  when  he  ac- 
companied his  sister  or  father.  Charles  preferred 
walking  when  the  distance  was  not  too  great,  and 
detested  everything  that  savored  of  fashion  or  style. 

,*•• 


10  TOUHO  MMB  GIDDY. 

He  was  a  very  peculiar  fellow,  was  Charles,  and 
people  had  begun  to  speak  of  him  as  "a  Socialist." 

Miss  Flora  May  seated  herself  upon  her  comfort- 
able cushions  and  was  about  to  give  the  order  to  her 
driver  to  set  off  when  a  couple  of  children  that 
happened  to  come  along  the  sidewalk  attracted  and 
riveted  her  attention.  Both  were  very  plainly 
dressed.  One  was  a  year  or  two  older  than  herself, 
a  straight,  brown-faced  lad  with  a  set  look  that 
might  almost  be  called  surly  ;  the  other  was  a  girl 
of  about  thirteen,  undoubtedly  his  sister,  and  yet 
with  an  air  as  different  from  his  as  daylight  and 
darkness. 

Upon  seeing  the  handsome  equipage  and  its  occu- 
pants the  boy  acted  as  if  determined  not  to  appear 
interested.  After  one  glance  his  gaze  sought  the 
pavement  and  he  seemed  to  be  counting  the  bricks 
at  his  feet.  The  girl,  on  the  contrary,  opened  her 
eyes  wider  at  the  sight  before  her,  drinking  in  the 
scene  with  greediness.  She  realized  lhat  here  was 
the  antithesis  of  her  own  life,  this  aristocratic  child 
with  her  horses  and  servants,  and  she  was  entranced 
to  the  full  in  her  contemplation. 

The  girl  looked  at  Miss  Flora  and  Miss  Flora 
looked  at  the  girl.  The  coachman,  too  well  bred  to 
turn  his  head,  knew  what  was  going  on  behind  him. 
Madame  Saccard,  the  chaperone,  thought  what  an 
effective  painting  the  contrasting  scene  would  make, 
but  she  did  not  change  a  muscle  of  her  French  face, 
nor  utter  a  word.  Though  twice  the  age  of  her  pupil 
she  was  as  careful  in  expressing  her  opinions  as  if 
the  opposite  had  been  the  case.  Only  the  lap-dog, 
impatient  to  be  off,  showed  his  sentiments,  by  bark- 
ing in  a  dissatisfied  key. 


THI    POOR   6IBL   AJTD   THE   RICH   OWS.  11 

It  all  lasted  but  a  moment.  The  children  who 
were  walking  passed  by,  and  the  child  in  the  car- 
riage spoke  to  her  driver,  telling  him  to  proceed 
toward  the  Park,  which  was  the  destination  she  had 
chosen. 

"  Wasn't  that  beautiful  !'*  exclaimed  the  girl  on 
the  sidewalk  to  her  brother,  when  they  were  out  of 
hearing. 

The  boy  did  not  reply.  He  walked  on,  with  his 
eyes  still  on  the  pavement,  his  face  as  stolid  as 
before. 

"  She  must  be  rich  /"  continued  the  sister.  "  That 
was  her  carriage.  It  takes  lots  of  money  to  own  such 
things.  And  of  course  she  lives  in  that  handsome 
house.  Don't  you  think  so?"  she  added,  after  a 
moment,  as  there  were  no  signs  that  any  answer  was 
intended. 

"  It's  nothing  to  do  with  us,  that's  all  /think  about 
it,"  said  the  brother,  surlily,  thus  driven  into  reply- 
ing. 

"  Why,  Austin  Strange  !"  cried  the  girl.  "How 
cross  you  always  are  when  you  see  any  one  who  has 
better  things  than  we  !  I  don't  blame  people  for  liv- 
ing just  as  nice  as  they  can  afford.  I  would  have  a 
carriage  like  that  if  I  could,  and  a  driver  and  ser- 
vants— and  a  lap-dog,  too.  And  I  often  think,"  she 
added,  reflectively,  "  that  the  day  is  going  to  come 
when  I  shall." 

The  boy  looked  up  from  the  siaewaTK,  one  quick 
glance.  There  was  a  full  measure  of  contemptuous 
disbelief  in  that  look.  He  did  not,  however,  deem 
the  prediction  worthy  of  words,  and  he  walked  on 
as  silent  as  before. 

The  probable  pecuniary  status  of  these  children 


IS  YOUKG   MISS  GIDDY. 

was  shown  not  only  in  their  garments,  but  in  that 
indefinable  air  which  accompanies  poverty  when  it 
comes  in  contact  with  wealth. 

"  You  might  talk  to  me  a  little,  Austin,**  said  the 
girl,  when  they  had  turned  the  corner  of  Fourth 
avenue  and  were  nearing  the  neighborhood  in  which 
they  resided.  "  How  is  it  some  folks  get  so  much 
money,  while  others  get  almost  nothing  ?  Look 
at  father  :  he  is  a  carpenter  ;  he  always  was  a  car- 
penter ;  he  never  will  be  anything  else.  Three  dol- 
lars a  day  is  the  highest  he  ever  got.  Many  days 
together  he  is  out  of  work  because  business  is  dull 
or  the  weather  is  bad.  I  have  heard  him  say  he  doesn't 
average  over  six  hundred  dollars  a  year.  It  is  the 
same  with  most  of  the  people  that  live  in  the  block 
with  us.  Now,  when  you  cross  the  avenue,  every- 
thing seems  different.  Over  there  they  have  elegant 
homes,  servants,  all  the  money  they  want.  There 
must  be  a  reason  for  it,  and  I  think  some  one  ought 
to  be  able  to  find  it  out." 

Austin  found  his  voice  then,  to  utter  one  brief 
sentence. 

44  Esther,  you  talk  like  a  fool !" 

The  girl  tossed  her  head. 

"  It  is  better  to  talk  like  a  fool  than  not  to  talk  at 
all,"  she  retorted.  "  If  I  was  a  boy  I  would  be 
ashamed  not  to  know  any  more  than  you  do.  You 
are  going  to  be  just  like  father — a  mechanic,  with 
only  enough  to  keep  you  from  starving  and  freezing. 
But  I  will  never  consent  to  live  like  that.  No,  I  am 
going  to  be  a  lady." 

The  brother  looked  up  again,  with  the  same  con- 
temptuous sneer  on  his  lips. 

"  You,  a  lady  !"  he  repeated,  taking  in  the  whole 


THE    POOR  GIBL   AND   THE   BIOH    ONE.  13 

•f  her  profile,  from  the  cheap  hat  on  her  head  to 
the  stout  shoes  on  her  feet.  "  How  f" 

Esther  bridled  at  his  manner. 

"  I  don't  know  exactly,"  she  said,  "  but  I  shall  do 
it.  I  have  as  good  a  right  to  wear  fine  clothes  and 
ride  in  a  carriage  as  those  girls  on  the  other  side  of 
Fourth  avenue,  and  I  will  find  a  way.  You  will 
never  help  me,  that  is  certain.  And  neither  will 
father.  And  his  new  wife — who  wants  me  to  call 
her  mother,  but  I  never  shall — she  would  rather 
see  me  wearing  rags.  I  know  that  many  of  the 
people  who  are  now  rich  were  once  as  poor  as  we 
are.  They  found  out  the  way  to  fortune,  and  so 
shall  I." 

Austin  Strange  was  not  a  lad  who  talked  a  great 
deal.  At  home  he  never  spoke  unless  some  one 
addressed  him  first,  and  then  he  replied  in  the 
briefest  terms  he  could  find.  He  and  Esther  were 
not  any  too  fond  of  each  other,  and  they  were 
seldom  found  walking  the  streets  together.  The 
statement  that  he  had  just  heard  seemed  to  irritate 
him  exceedingly,  but  he  did  not  show  his  resent- 
ment in  harsh  expressions.  He  only  turned  abruptly 
from  her,  as  they  reached  a  corner,  and  walked  off 
rapidly  in  a  direction  opposite  to  that  in  which  lay 
their  home. 

"  Isn't  he  hateful  !"  said  the  girl,  aloud,  angry  at 
finding  herself  deserted. 

And  a  pleasant  voice  at  her  elbow  murmured  : 

"  Well,  he  isn't  very  agreeable,  that's  a  fact." 

Esther  turned  and  saw  a  well-dressed  young  gen- 
tleman contemplating  her  with  an  amused  smile. 
He  was,  to  judge  from  appearances,  of  nineteen 


14  TOTING   MISS  GIDDY. 

years  or  thereabout,  and  of  a  very  different  order 
of  society  from  the  one  in  which  her  family  moved. 

"  He's  your  brother,  I  presume,"  added  the  young 
gentleman,  in  return  for  her  stare.  "  Though  one 
wouldn't  think  it  to  listen  to  his  excessive  taci- 
turnity." 

Esther  had  no  idea  what  interested  this  stranger 
in  her,  but  there  was  something  about  him  that 
charmed  her  at  first  sight.  Ordinarily  she  would 
have  given  him  a  sharp  retort,  and  told  him  to  go 
about  his  business. 

"  I  don't  exactly  know  whaf  you  mean  by  '  taci- 
turnity,1" she  ventured. 

"  Your  brother  does,"  said  the  young  gentleman. 
"  He  understands  it  very  well.  And  now  will  you 
tell  me  why  you  wish  to  be  a  lady,  and  why  you 
think  you  are  destined  to  rise  above  the  station  in 
life  into  which  you  were  born  ?" 

There  was  such  a  laughing  quality  in  the  voice  of 
the  young  gentleman  that  Esther  could  not  tell 
whether  he  had  any  serious  purpose  in  his  inquiry. 
But  the  subject  had  taken  a  deep  hold  of  her,  and 
she  was  only  too  glad  of  a  chance  to  converse  with 
any  one  upon  it. 

"  I  cannot  give  a  reason,"  she  said,  her  brow 
clouding.  She  had  begun  to  walk  along,  accom- 
panied by  her  new  companion.  "I  cannot  tell  why 
I  expect  to  be  a  lady,  except  that  I  want  to  b« 
one  very  much.  As  to  being  born  the  child  of  a 
carpenter,  many  people  have  told  me  it  must  be 
a  mistake.  I  am  not  like  the  rest  of  my  people. 
My  father  is  satisfied  to  saw  boards  and  plane  tim- 
ber all  day  long.  My  brother  Austin  is  going  to 
follow  the  same  trade,  The  only  times  they  complain 


TW«   POOR   rtTRI,    ANT)   THE   RICH   OWB.  15 

is  when  building  is  dull  and  they  cannot  get  enough 
to  do.  My  stepmother  often  tells  me  that  in  a  year 
or  two  more  I  must  go  to  work.  All  the  girls  I  was 
brought  up  with  go  into  shops,  or  factories,  or  stores 
as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough.  But  I  have  told  her 
I  never  will  do  it.  She  may  talk  as  much  as  she 
pleases,  but  I  never  will.  There  are  ways  to  get 
rich  and  I  will  find  out  how.  I  have  heard  that 
many  of  the  richest  people  were  once  as  poor  as  any 
one." 

Young  Douglass  Maybury  admitted  the  truth  of 
this  statement.  He  was  pleased  with  the  brightness 
of  the  queer  child,  whose  head  was  full  of  such 
odd  ideas,  and  he  walked  along  with  her  willingly, 
listening  to  her  aims  and  plans. 

"  Yes,  some  of  them  were  as  poor  as — well,  let  us 
say,  Job's  turkey,"  he  said.  "The  pretty  young 
girl  you  saw  starting  on  her  ride  belongs  tc  that 
kind  of  a  family.  Her  father  was  born  in  a  hovel, 
I  have  heard  say  ;  and  to-day  there  are  not  ten  men 
in  New  York  as  rich  as  he." 

Esther  looked  at  him  with  increased  excitement. 

"  Oh,  did  you  see  me  as  far  back  as  that  ?"  she 
asked.  "  What  a  pretty  girl  she  was  and  what  an 
elegant  team  she  had  !  You  do  not — no,  you  do 
not  know  her,  do  you  ?" 

"  I  know  her  a  little,"  he  answered.  "  I  have 
been  to  her  house  a  number  of  times.  If  she  had 
not  been  going  out  at  the  moment,  I  might  have 
called  this  morning." 

The  girl  asked  the  next  question  with  great 
eagerness. 

"  Then  you  have  heard,  perhaps,  how  her  father 
got  so  much  money  ?  That  is  the  thing  to  find  out, 


16  TOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

where  it  comes  from,  this  wealth  they  all  seem  to 
have  on  the  other  side  of  Fourth  avenue,  and 
nobody  has  on  this  side.  If  I  could  find  that  out, 
I  should  know  how  to  make  a  start." 

She  was  too  much  in  earnest  for  him  to  laugh  at 
her  now.  Her  dark  eyes  with  their  quivering  lashes 
were  turned  full  upon  his  gray  ones. 

"  I  do  not  know,  upon  my  word,  how  the  Senator 
made  his  dollars,"  he  said,  "  but  I  can  find  out  for 
you.  I  think  it  was  in  mines  and  railroads,  and 
ways  like  those.  And  I  am  afraid  that,  in  any 
event,  it  was  in  things  which  a  little  girl  like  you 
could  not  carry  on." 

For  a  moment  the  dark  eyes  fell  at  the  prospect. 

"  I  want  to  know,  for  all  that,"  said  the  girl, 
when  she  lifted  them  again.  "  I  want  to  know  all  I 
can  about  rich  people  who  were  once  poor.  Couldn't 
you  inquire  and  tell  me  ?" 

The  young  gentleman  said  he  would  do  so  with 
the  greatest  of  pleasure,  but  he  added  that  he  did 
not  yet  know  where  to  address  his  young  friend. 

"  I  live  at  No.  —  Avenue  A,"  responded  the  girl, 
promptly,  "  and  my  name  is  Esther  Strange  ;  but 
you  must  not  write  to  me  there,  for  my  stepmother 
would  open  the  letter  before  she  gave  it  to  me  and 
scold  me  for  letting  you  send  it.  I  shall  have  to 
meet  you  somewhere.  When  do  you  think  you  will 
have  learned  ?  I  am  impatient  to  know.  Could 
you  make  it  to-morrow  evening  ?" 

Though  Douglass  Maybury  was  but  nineteen  years 
of  age,  this  was  not  the  first  time  he  had  made  an 
appointment  with  a  girl;  but  Esther  was  so  young 
and  so  innocent,  as  he  could  see  by  the  things  she 
said  and  the  artless  way  she  said  them,  that  he  hesi- 


THK   POOE   GIRL   AKD   THE   BICH   O1H6.  IT 

tated  even  to  do  the  apparently  harmless  thing  she 
asked.  A  child  of  that  age,  it  occurred  to  him, 
would  better  obey  even  the  orders  of  a  needlessly 
severe  stepmother  than  meet  a  stranger  secretly  fof 
any  purpose  whatever.  Beginning  in  this  way,  who 
could  tell  to  what  the  act  might  lead  as  she  grew 
older  ? 

It  is  said  that  the  lion  will  not  attack  prey  except 
when  he  is  in  want  of  food,  and  certainly  Douglass 
had  no  improper  thought  in  connection  with  this  lit- 
tle, confiding  creature.  However,  it  was  easier  to  tell 
her  he  would  come  than  to  refuse  her,  and  run  the 
risk  of  seeing  her  pretty  face  cloud  again,  and  per- 
haps her  bright  eyes  overflow  with  tears. 

"  There  is  a  man  who  knows  all  about  the  Scar- 
letts,"  he  said,  "  and  he  belongs  to  a  club  with  me. 
If  I  can  find  him,  and  draw  him  out,  I  will  bring 
you  the  information  you  wish.  Where  shall  I  see 
you  and  at  what  hour  ?" 

Delighted  at  his  compliance,  the  girl  mentioned  a 
small  bit  of  public  ground,  called  by  the  residents  in 
its  vicinity  a  "park,"  at  which  she  would  await 
him,  when  the  clock  was  striking  eight. 

"  That's  a  bad  hour,  my  little  girl,"  said  Maybury. 
"  I  dine  at  half-past  seven  usually,  and — " 

"  Not  till  half-past  seven  !"  exclaimed  the  listener. 
"  Why,  we  have  dinner  at  noon  !" 

The  young  gentleman's  face  was  wreathed  in 
smiles.  Her  naivett6  was  certainly  most  charming. 

"  You  are  very  lucky  to  be  served  so  early,"  said 
he.  "  At  my  club  they  are  too  busy  to  get  around 
at  that  hour  Is  there  any  reason  why  you  cannot 
see  me  at  nine  ?" 

Yes,  there   was  a   reason.     At  nine   o'clock  Mrs. 


18  YOUNG   MISS  GIDDY. 

Strange  the  second  insisted  on  her  stepdaughter 
being  in  bed.  Still  Esther  would  rather  have  braved 
the  indignation  of  her  stepmother  than  have  missed 
the  coveted  appointment  altogether. 

"  If  you  could  say  a  quarter-past  eight,  or  even 
half-past,"  she  began. 

"  Why  not  earlier,  then  ?"  asked  Douglass.  «  Why 
not  half-past  six  ?" 

The  girl  shook  her  head. 

"  That  is  the  time  we  eat  our  supper." 

Maybury  began  to  remember  hearing  that  these 
strange  hours  were  kept  by  members  of  the  lower 
classes,  and  he  tried  to  fix  on  a  time  when  the  girl's 
family  would  be  neither  eating  nor  sleeping.  It 
seemed,  according  to  this  child,  that  they  were 
occupied  in  one  or  the  other  of  these  things  most  of 
the  evening. 

"  I  can  come  at  seven,"  he  said,  w  and  dine  a 
little  later  than  usual." 

Esther  accepted  this  amendment. 

"  Now,  will  you  tell  mzyour  name  and  where  you 
live  ?"  she  asked.  "  Because,  you  see,  if  anything 
should  happen  that  you  were  kept  from  coming,  or 
if  I  could  not  get  out  to  meet  you,  I  should  want  to 
know  where  to  find  you  the  next  time." 

She  had  a  long  head  on  her,  this  child  of  thirteen  ! 
Maybury  took  out  a  case,  and  handed  her  a  card 
bearing  his  name  and  the  address  of  his  chambers. 

"  Thank  you,"  she  said,  simply.  "  And  be  sure 
you  don't  forget  to  inquire  all  about  the  father  of 
that  handsome  girl  I  saw  on  Fifty-second  street — 
how  he  got  so  much  money  and  everything.  One 
cannot  be  a  lady  ^r  a  gentleman  without  plenty  of 
money,  can  they  ?  If  you  find  it  all  out,  and  cone 


•IHATOX   FROM   VAN    BUBKH.  19 

and  tell  me  all  about  it,  I  will  thank  you  as  long  as 
I  live  !" 

Esther  Strange  was  a  pretty  girl,  in  spite  of  the 
extreme  plainness  of  her  attire.  Douglass  May- 
bury  wondered,  as  he  walked  back  toward  his 
rooms,  how  she  would  look  in  good  clothes — in 
those  garments  of  a  lady  which  she  had  begun  to 
crave.  She  had  a  well-developed  figure  for  her  age, 
and  her  rosy  cheeks  and  bright  eyes  gave  promise 
of  a  healthful  and  vigorous  womanhood. 

"  Fortune  is  idiotic  in  the  distribution  of  her 
favors  !"  he  muttered.  "  Or  doesn't  she  distribute 
them  at  all  ?  Does  she  only  keep  them  for  the  most 
selfish — the  ones  who  are  willing  to  grab,  and  push, 
and  tread  their  fellows  under  their  feet  ?" 


CHAPTER  II. 

SENATOR  FROM  VAN  BUREN. 

What  Mr.  Maybury  learned  at  his  club  that  even- 
ing, combined  with  what  he  already  knew,  and  also 
with  several  things  that  the  author  has  ascertained 
on  his  own  account,  may  as  well  be  given  to  the 
reader  in  a  single  chapter,  and  at  this  time. 

Augustus  Scarlett,  millionaire  many  times  over, 
Senator  of  the  United  States  from  Van  Buren,  rail- 
road president,  mine  owner,  etc..  etc.,  was  born  to  a 
poverty  so  abject  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  over- 
state its  depth.  At  an  early  age  Augustus  left  the 
paternal  roof,  because  it  leaked  so  badly  that  it  no 


30  YOUNG   MI88    QIDDT. 

longer  afforded  him  shelter.  He  deserted  the  family 
board,  because  it  seldom  had  anything  upon  it  worth 
eating. 

With  no  blessing  but  a  "  Scotch  "  one,  he  went 
forth  to  look  for  his  own  food  and  raiment.  His 
father  and  mother  had  freely  expressed  the  opinion 
that  he  never  would  "  amount  to  anything."  They 
were  sure  he  would  reflect  no  credit  on  the  name 
of  Scarlett,  this  branch  of  which  had  little  to  boast 
of  except  that  none  of  its  members  had  ever  served 
terms  in  the  penitentiary.  It  was  seriously  feared 
that  Augustus  would  break  even  this  record,  because 
he  detested  work  on  a  farm  and  exhibited  a  discred- 
itable fondness  for  soap  and  water. 

The  Scarletts  owned — barring  a  mortgage  and 
accrued  interest — a  few  acres  of  land  from  which 
much  of  their  support  was  supposed  to  come.  In 
his  earliest  youth,  Augustus  unwillingly  assisted  at 
the  burial  of  sundry  sliced  potatoes,  and  the  obse- 
quies of  various  garden  seeds,  in  the  hope  that  they 
would  achieve  a  glorious  resurrection  as  the  season 
advanced.  But  when  it  became  necessary  to  ply 
the  hoe  again,  the  boy  was  found  wanting  in  a  very 
literal  sense.  He  had  a  way  of  stealing  out  of  the 
front  door  and  making  for  the  cool  retreats  of  the 
adjacent  wood,  where  he  remained,  even  at  the  cost 
ef  losing  his  dinner,  until  the  night  came  on. 

Weeding  onions  and  picking  worms  from  vines 
had  more  terrors  for  him  than  hunger.  And  he  had 
a  consolation  in  his  wooded  retreat  that  made  him 
forget  the  recurrence  of  mealtime.  A  young  friend 
in  the  village  who  possessed  a  library  gave  him  free 
access  to  it.  Beneath  his  poor  jacket  a  book  was 
usually  concealed.  Absorbed  in  romance,  poetry  of 


SENATOR  FROM  YAH  BURBN.          11 

history,  the  young  lad  knew  nothing  of  physical 
appetite.  The  falling  of  the  curtains  of  night  was 
the  one  thing  that  compelled  him  to  cease  his  beloved 
reading. 

In  a  household  where  a  stray  almanac, — obtained 
free  from  the  druggist  on  account  of  its  medical 
advertisements, — was  the  only  piece  of  literature 
obtainable,  it  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  this 
kind  of  Ugly  Duckling  was  looked  upon  as  a  verit- 
able  visitation  of  the  wrath  of  God.  He  was  not  at 
all  like  the  other  Scarletts,  that  was  certain.  They 
gave  him  a  soubriquet  that  they  thought  very  cut- 
ting and  severe — that  of  "the  gentleman." 

"  Here  comes  the  gentleman  !"  his  father  would 
say,  when  Augustus  crept  back  to  his  cabin  at  night- 
fall. "Give  him  some  soap  !  and  some  blacking  for 
his  shoes  !  and  a  bottle  of  perfumery  !  He  wants 
to  wear  paper  collars  and  a  pair  of  cuffs  !  He  will 
be  brushing  his  hair  next,  and  cleaning  his  nails  ! 
Where  have  you  been  all  day,  you  young  loafer  ?" 

Although  the  elder  Scarlett  was  in  the  habit  of 
using  a  good  deal  of  objectionable  language,  he  was 
not  addicted  to  other  means  of  enforcing  his  opin- 
ions. Not  one  of  his  seven  children  could  remember 
that  he  had  erer  lifted  his  hand  to  strike  them. 
Had  he  done  so  to  his  most  unpopular  son  the 
severance  of  the  tie  between  the  boy  and  his  family 
might  have  come  earlier  than  it  did. 

Discouraged  as  both  father  and  mother  were  with 
such  a  lad,  the  remains  of  the  simple  meal  they  had 
last  indulged  in  were  always  set  out  for  him,  so  that 
he  did  not  go  to  bed  supperless. 

"  I  don't  see  where  you  get  your  tastes,"  the  elder 
Scarlett  would  often  assert  complainingly,  as  the  mea- 


22  TOtfSG   MIW 

gre  supper  proceeded.  "  All  you  think  of  is  reading 
and  fixing  yourself  up.  You  don't  see  your  mother 
or  me  doing  it.  We  never  waste  our  time  ;  I  don't 
know  what  our  children  would  do  if  we  did.  Where 
did  you  learn  such  things  ?  Did  you  ever  see  me 
combing  my  hair  ?  Do  /  ever  wash  my  hands  or 
black  my  boots?" 

"No,  father,  no,"  Augustus  would  answer,  ab- 
stractedly. 

His  thoughts  were  elsewhere.  He  knew  that 
interrogations  were  being  addressed  to  him,  but  he 
did  not  listen  to  their  purport. 

"  I  wonder  how  you  expect  to  git  your  living. 
There  won't  nobody  support  you,  that  I  knows  on. 
It's  time  you  was  out  to  work,  like  Jim  and  Nan. 
Jim  is  getting  eight  dollars  a  month  and  board,  and 
Nan  makes  four  dollars  and  a  half  a  week  in  the 
factory.  But  you've  got  to  change  some  of  your 
ways  before  anybody  '11  hire  you.  I  asked  Darling 
last  week  if  he  hadn't  a  place  for  you  in  the  saw- 
mill and  he  said  he  didn't  want  no  high-toned  city 
chap  there.  '  He'd  have  to  stop  every  ten  minutes 
and  wash  up  !'  he  said.  I  tell  you,  Gus,  you'll  have 
to  turn  over  a  new  leaf  pretty  soon." 

"  Yes,  father,"  the  son  would  reply,  in  as  great 
abstraction  as  before  ;  and,  after  picking  gingerly 
at  the  viands  set  before  him,  he  would  go  up  stairs 
to  bed  with  his  younger  brother,  "  Dolly,"  the  only 
one  of  the  family  who  seemed  to  care  for  him  or  for 
whom  he  entertained  the  least  spark  of  affection. 

"  Dolly "  had  been  named  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
after  the  Swedish  king,  while  Augustus  had  been 
christened  in  honor  of  the  Roman  emperor.  A 
sister  of  Mrs.  Scarlett,  who  had  read  a  book  on 


•BXATOH  rBOK  YAM   BUBBN.  23 

history  at  some  period  of  her  life,  forwarded  names 
to  fit  as  fast  as  the  children  were  born,  taken  in 
every  instance  from  the  ranks  of  royalty.  Even 
"Jim,"  the  elder  boy,  was  so  called  after  "  the  Most 
High  and  Mighty  Prince  James,  King  of  Great 
Britain,  France  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the  Faith," 
etc.,  to  whom  most  English-speaking  Christians 
have  seen  an  allusion  on  the  front  page  of  their 
family  Bibles.  Nan,  the  oldest  girl,  was  named  for 
that  queen  whose  style  of  architecture  has  been  of 
late  so  extensively  copied  in  the  United  States  ;  and 
the  other  three  Scarletts  bore  equally  distinguished 
cognomens.  The  suitability  of  these  selections  had 
never  troubled  any  of  the  interested  parties,  though 
it  caused  a  smile  sometimes  among  the  better 
educated  residents  of  the  town  where  they  lived. 

At  last  Augustus  Scarlett  went  forth  into  the 
world  without  even  one  cent  to  his  name,  and  with 
a  very  small  bundle  of  extra  clothing  in  his  hand» 
nobody  caring  except  little  Dolly,  who  wept  dismally 
all  the  night  before  and  wailed  furiously  when  the 
actual  exodus  took  place.  And  twenty-five  years 
afterward  this  same  Augustus,  with  the  prefix  of 
"  Hon."  was  living  in  a  mansion  of  his  own  on 
Fifty-second  street  and  paying  several  of  his  ser- 
vants a  larger  salary  than  was  ever  earned  by  any 
Scarlett  except  himself  that  he  had  known. 

Whence  the  great  change  ?  Ah,  that  would  be  a 
long  story  !  The  lives  of  our  rich  men,  given  in  the 
illustrated  papers,  the  Congressional  Directory,  the 
Biographical  Dictionaries,  are  always  aggravatingly 
incomplete  on  the  important  point  of  how  they 
obtained  their  fortunes.  To  be  sure,  there  is  a 
pretense  of  telling.  "  Mr.  Smith  was  born  in  such 


II  Y0CKG  MISS  OIDDT. 

a  town  of  very  poor  parents  and  had  to  go  out  early 
to  seek  his  own  living."  That  is  the  ordinary  begin- 
ning. And  then  the  biographer  jumps  to  some 
expression  like  this:  "When  he  was  only  twenty- 
four  years  old  he  purchased  the  extensive  woolen 
mills  at  X ." 

"  How  the  deuce,"  exclaims  the  reader,  "  did  he 
get  the  funds  to  purchase  the  mills  ?"  And  the 
chronicler  remains  pertinaciously  silent. 

The  young  man  who  wants  to  get  rich  himself — 
and  what  young  man  does  not  ? — would  be  much 
obliged  if  the  writer  of  Mr.  Smith's  life  would  sub- 
mit that  gentleman's  cash  account  during  the  years 
that  intervened  between  his  excessive  poverty  and 
his  purchase  of  "the  extensive  woolen  mills  at 

X ."  But  it  is  never  given,  and  I  do  not  see 

why  the  writer  of  a  mere  work  of  fiction  should  be 
more  explicit  than  his  contemporaries  of  the  news 
columns. 

This  much  was,  however,  well  known.  Mr.  Scar- 
lett had  been  the  promoter  of  a  railroad  that  rivalled 
one  of  the  greatest  trunk  lines  in  the  country.  He 
had  obtained  a  charter  from  a  legislature  which 
public  opinion  had  driven  in  spite  of  itself  into 
favoring  his  project,  as  a  blow  to  a  gigantic  monop- 
oly that  was  through  him  to  find  a  rival.  Owners 
of  land  along  his  line  had  treated  him  generously, 
thankful  that  they  were  soon  to  have  reasonable 
rates  of  fare  for  themselves  and  of  freight  for  their 
produce.  Courts  had  rendered  opinions  in  his  favor, 
in  documents  that  tickled  the  popular  ear  and  were 
supposed  to  cause  a  cold  sensation  to  pass  down  the 
backs  of  the  Astorbilts  and  Vanderfeldts  who  were 


SENATOR  FROM    VAN   BUREN.  25 

robbing  the  people  by  their  hitherto  unchecked  ra- 
pacity. 

The  road  had  been  built,  being  received  every- 
where with  acclamations.  Those  who  rode  over  it 
were  compelled  to  admit  that  it  was  not  such  a 
smooth  running  track  as  the  old  one — that  it  had  too 
many  sharp  curves  and  lacked  stability  in  construc- 
tion. Bankers  knew  it  had  issued  an  unwarrantable 
amount  of  bonds  and  stock,  at  which  shrewd  invest- 
ors looked  askance.  But  the  public  did  not  care. 
It  had  cut  rates,  that  was  the  main  thing  for  which 
it  was  designed  ;  and  it  gave  out  passes  with  a  gener- 
ous hand. 

Editors  rode  free,  of  course,  (as  all  editors  should) 
after  being  compelled  to  descend  to  the  level  of 
common  people  and  pay  their  fares  over  the  lines  of 
the  monopolistic  road.  Ministers,  with  a  just  regard 
to  proportions,  were  taken  at  half  price.  Shippers 
were  given  special  rates  when  they  wanted  to  take 
an  outing. 

Oh,  it  was  a  great  success,  that  new  road  !  And 
then  President  Scarlett  was  elected,  almost  without 
his  consent,  to  the  State  Senate.  It  made  no  differ- 
ence what  party  he  belonged  to,  and  in  those  days 
he  hardly  knew  himself.  Everybody,  except  a  few 
mean-spirited  holders  of  the  rival  road's  stock,  voted 
for  him.  He  swept  the  poll,  leaving  his  opponent 
nothing  but  a  handful  of  scattering  votes. 

"  The  Democratic  committee  of  this  district  wish 
your  permission  to  nominate  you  for  the  Senate," 
said  the  gentlemen  who  called  at  Mr.  Scarlett's  office. 
*'  There  is  no  question  of  your  election  if  you  allow 
your  name  used.  Our  only  doubt  is  in  refer- 
ence to  your  politics.  As  you  have  taken  no  part  in 


36  TOOTPG   K1BS  GIDDY. 

such  matters,  nobody  seems  able  to  state  to  which 
side  you  belong.  Of  course  you  are  a  Democratf 
however.  A  man  of  your  public  spirit  could  hardly 
be  otherwise." 

The  spokesman  paused,  smiling  sweetly,  and  for  a 
minute  Mr.  Scarlett  hardly  knew  how  to  answer  his 
pointed  question.  He  had  never  affiliated,  especially, 
with  any  party.  Like  Jay  Gould,  he  had  been  a 
Democrat  in  some  counties  and  a  Republican  in 
others,  as  his  personal  interest  seemed  to  dictate. 
He  did  not  know  whether  it  was  wise  to  accept 
honors  at  the  hand  of  either  of  the  great  political 
organizations,  lest  it  should  antagonize  men  whose 
influence  he  needed  on  the  other  side.  He  wanted 
to  consult  with  his  lawyers,  and,  above  all,  with  his 
lobbyists. 

"  I  am  a  very  busy  man,  gentlemen,"  he  said,  after 
a  long  pause.  "  I  cannot  say  whether  it  will  be  pos- 
sible for  me  to  accept  any  office  at  present.  The 
interests  of  the  road  I  am  managing  can  hardly  be 
of  less  moment  to  the  community  than  matters  at  the 
State  Capitol.  However,  I  will  consider  and  let  you 
know  within  a  short  time." 

He  then  rose  with  that  air  which  expresses  regret 
at  being  unable  to  prolong  the  conversation. 
Shaking  hands  personally  with  every  member  of  the 
delegation,  he  bade  them  a  good-afternoon. 

Before  the  day  was  ended  a  committee  of  Repub- 
licans came  on  precisely  the  same  errand.  They 
were  also  a  little  in  doubt  as  to  his  politics,  but  had 
no  question  that  the  sympathies  of  such  an  eminent 
man  must  be  on  their  side  of  the  fence.  The  answer 
he  gave  them  was  identical  with  that  he  had  given 
the  other  committee.  He  would  think  it  over  ;  he 


BK1TJLTOR   FROM    VAN   BUWW.  2T 


was   very   busy  ;    he    thanked    them    for  coming* 
Each  man  had  his  hand  shaken  warmly  as  he  with- 

drew. 

That  night  the  editors  of  the  party  papers  in  town 
wrote  editorials  expressing  the  hope  that  Mr.  Scar- 
lett would  accept  the  nomination  that  would  cer» 
tainly  be  tendered  to  him.  The  next  day  the  place 
was  in  a  furore.  The  audacity  of  the  "other  side  " 
was  alluded  to  by  both  parties  in  the  most  scathing 
terms.  They  need  not  hope  to  get  into  power  in  any 
such  contemptible  way.  Mr.  Scarlett's  popularity 
would  be  very  handy  indeed,  to  settle  such  a  close 
district. 

Reporters,  not  only  of  the  local  press,  but  from  the 
great  metropolitan  dailies,  sought  interviews  with 
the  popular  gentleman  in  vain.  It  was  an  occasion 
for  the  use  of  his  private  secretary,  who  met  all 
comers  in  the  outside  office  with  the  statement  that 
Mr.  Scarlett  could  not  be  seen  by  any  person  what- 
ever, and  that  he  would  make  public  his  position, 
over  his  own  signature,  when  he  could  find  the  time 
to  do  so. 

The  lobbyists  and  the  lawyers  decided  the  matter 
for  their  employer,  after  a  conference.  The  answer 
to  the  tenders  that  had  been  made  him  was  con- 
tained in  a  statement  sent  simultaneously  to  both 
committees  and  to  the  press  in  general. 

Mr.  Scarlett  was  already  giving  every  moment  of 
his  valuable  time  to  the  service  of  the  people  ;  so 
the  document  said.  It  was  not  clear  to  him  that  he 
could  do  more  if  he  was  sent  to  the  Capitol.  He 
feared,  indeed,  that  he  would  be  unable  to  perform 
all  his  duties  there,  in  his  over-worked  condition. 
Still,  it  was  undeniably  true  that  there  were  matters 


28  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

connected  with  the  new  road  on  which  he  might 
have  a  more  direct  and  favorable  influence  if  he 
occupied  a  seat  in  the  legislative  body. 

It  was,  however,  a  higher  matter  than  that  of  mere 
party,  and  he  was  obliged  to  treat  it  as  such.  There 
were  friends  of  Anti-monopoly  on  both  sides.  He 
would  work  with  them  wherever  they  were  found. 
In  short,  while  Mr.  Scarlett  did  not  ask  nor  desire, 
nor  had  any  personal  ambition  to  go  to  the  State 
Senate,  he  would  consent  to  be  a  candidate  of  the 
People,  regardless  of  party,  and  would  accept  no 
other  nomination.  If  elected,  he  would  be  bound  to 
no  interest  but  that  of  the  Public.  He  would  be 
trammelled  by  no  caucus  and  influenced  by  no 
clique.  If  defeated,  it  would  give  him  not  the  least 
concern. 

That  was  the  whole  thing,  in  a  nut-shell. 

There  was  consternation  in  the  party  committees, 
for  each  had  felt  that,  with  him  as  their  exclusive 
candidate,  victory  was  assured  in  advance.  Both 
saw,  however,  that  there  was  only  one  thing  to  do. 
Their  regular  nominations  must  be  allowed  to  pass 
for  that  year.  They  must  do  their  best  to  convince 
the  People  that  they  were  the  real  Scarlett  party. 

On  election  day  everybody  voted  for  the  man 
who  did  not  care  to  run,  who  had  as  lief  be 
defeated  as  not ;  everybody  but  the  holders  of  the 
rival  bonds,  who  were  the  objects  of  general  hate. 
These  got  together  and  nominated  another  candi- 
date— one  of  themselves — who  received  187  votes, 
showing  conclusively  their  entire  strength.  Mr. 
Scarlett's  vote  was  8912. 

The  new  railroad  manager,  then  only  twenty- 
nioe  years  of  age,  was  returned  to  the  Senate  on  his 


g EN  A/TOR    FROM    VAIT    BCRHN.  29 

second  year  without  a  pretense  of  opposition.  The 
third  year  he  refused  peremptorily  to  run  agai^ 
though  his  constituents  appealed  to  him  with  tears 
in  their  eyes.  His  road  was  now  completed — that 
is,  it  was  built  from  end  to  end  so  that  cars  could 
run  over  it,  taking  special  care  at  the  bridges. 
Stations,  not  beautiful  structures  like  those  of  the 
other  road,  but  places  at  which  one  could  certainly 
alight  from  or  enter  the  trains,  were  scattered  here 
and  there.  President  Scarlett  needed  and  deserved 
a  rest.  The  prayers  of  the  people  followed  him, 
with  his  young  wife  and  babies,  when  it  was  reported 
in  the  papers  that  he  had  sailed  for  a  year's  voyage 
abroad. 

Perhaps  the  prayers  would  have  been  given  with 
less  fervor  had  they  been  delayed  for  another 
month.  For  at  that  time  it  came  out  that  the  new 
railroad  had  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Astorbilt 
and  Vanderfeldt  monopolists,  who  had  made  a  deal 
by  which  they  had  absorbed  a  majority  of  the  stock 
at  a  very  high  figure.  The  public  could  hardly 
believe  its  eyes  and  ears.  To  get  the  requisite 
amount  of  stock  to  control  the  directorate  the  monop- 
olists had  had  to  pay  $214  per  share  for  a  large 
quantity.  And  who  had  sold  them  his  stock  at  this 
rate  ?  Why,  the  Hon.  Augustus  Scarlett  ! 

Mr.  Scarlett  was  placed  at  once  among  the 
shrewdest  railroad  manipulators  of  his  day.  In  the 
opinion  of  Wall  street  and  its  newspaper  organs  he 
was  a  very  great  man.  His  name  would  henceforth 
count  as  a  power  on  'Change,  there  was  no  doubt 
of  that.  One  authority  placed  his  present  wealth  at 
$2,000,000,  another  declared,  "  on  reliable  informa- 
tion," that  it  exceeded  $5,000,000.  At  any  rate,  he 


$0  YOima   MI88 


had  a  good  fortune  for  a  young  man  of  thirty,  who 
had  started  with  nothing. 

The  people  along  the  line  of  his  late  road  were 
too  stunned  to  say  much.  Those  who  could  not  get 
half  price  for  their  stock  —  now  that  the  V.'s  and  A.'s 
had  got  all  they  wanted,  and  no  dividend  was  likely 
to  be  paid  for  a  long  time  —  cursed  quietly  to  them- 
selves. Most  of  the  others  said  a  man  could  not  be 
blamed  for  making  his  fortune  when  he  got  the 
chance,  and  that  he  was  no  worse  than  other  people. 
He  was  a  pleasant  fellow,  anyway,  and  had  been 
generous  to  the  poor. 

The  editors  found  he  had  not  forgotten  them  alto- 
gether. He  had  made  it  a  condition  of  his  sale  that 
all  editorial  passes  should  be  renewed  annually  for 
at  least  ten  years.  The  first  minister  who  asked  for 
a  half  rate  got  it  as  before.  Really,  Scarlett  was 
not  as  bad  as  some  people  would  make  him  out. 
Probably  he  could  have  come  back  a  month  after  he 
went  away  and  secured  a  re-election  to  the  State 
Senate,  a  sure  test  of  popular  approval. 

But  in  that  respect  he  differed  with  the  cat  of 
legendary  notoriety.  He  did  not  come  back.  He 
remained  for  a  year  in  Europe,  as  he  had  intended, 
and  when  he  returned  to  the  United  States  he  estab- 
lished two  residences.  One  was  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  for  the  purposes  of  trade  in  securities,  for  which 
he  believed  he  had  an  aptitude.  The  other  was  in 
the  State  of  Van  Buren,  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  where  he  purchased  a  stupendously  large  acre- 
age of  land.  Five  years  later  he  was  a  cattle  king, 
silver  king  and  a  railroad  promoter  in  many  direc- 
tions. He  was  a  member,  also,  of  the  lower  house  of 
the  National  Congress.  He  was  a  successful  man  in 


8ENATOE    FROM    VAA*    BUBBBt.  31 

erery  material  direction.  He  had  a  handsome  wife, 
a  boy  of  seven,  and  a  daughter  of  four  years.  He  no 
longer  worked  hard  at  his  multifarious  duties.  It 
was  easier  and  better  in  every  way  to  hire  able  men 
to  do  that  for  him. 

He  grew  to  be  a  veritable  Nabob.  At  the  time  of 
his  introduction  to  the  reader  he  was  so  very  wealthy 
that  the  figures  are  quite  superfluous.  No  one  would 
have  suspected,  had  he  kepi  the  matter  to  himself, 
that  he  had  not  been  reared  in  that  delightful  local- 
ity known  as  the  "  lap  of  luxury."  But  with  all  his 
money  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  throw  this  fact 
into  the  scale  on  running  for  the  United  States 
Senate.  There  was  a  prejudice  in  the  minds  of  some 
of  the  legislators  against  extreme  wealth,  and  to 
carry  the  majority  he  had  to  have  printed  a  picture 
of  the  cabin  where  he  was  born,  which  he  sent  a 
photographer  to  find. 

A  brilliant  journalist  worked  up  a  touching  story 
of  a  poor  lad  who  had  been  forced  to  leave  his  child- 
hood's home  at  a  tender  age,  and  had  risen  by  the 
sheer  force  of  industry  to  his  present  proud  position. 
Mr.  Scarlett  was  successful  by  a  majority  of  three  in 
a  hot  contest,  that  first  time.  The  second  time  he 
had  no  such  trouble.  His  lieutenants  saw  to  it  that 
members  likely  to  oppose  him  were  left  at  home  by 
their  constituencies. 

The  Hon.  Augustus  did  not  care  anything  for  the 
life  of  the  Senate,  in  itself.  He  went  there  because 
it  was,  and  still  is,  the  proper  thing  for  a  man  worth 
over  ten  millions  to  do.  He  spent  very  little  time  in 
the  State  which  he  had  the  honor  to  represent,  but 
neither  did  most  of  his  fellow-senators  from  that 
region.  One  of  the  great  interests  of  the  State  it 


32  TOUNG    MIB8   GIDDY. 

siJver,  and  a  silver-mine  owner  could  be  depended 
upon  not  to  vote  in  opposition  to  that  industry. 
Nobody  cared  how  else  he  voted,  or  whether  he  voted 
at  all,  and  he  might  have  remained  undisturbed  for- 
ever in  his  place  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  several 
men  who  had  also  become  worth  more  than  ten  mil- 
lions wanted  the  position,  and  stood  ready  to  make 
him  fight  for  it  at  each  recurring  election. 

Once  he  was  spoken  of  for  Vice-President  of  the 
country,  but  this  was  only  what  is  known  as  a 
"  bluff,"  and  was  designed  to  make  him  appear  a 
National  figure  for  local  effect. 


CHAPTER  III. 
"  LUVV  ?    WHAT'S  LUV*  ?** 

Douglass  Maybury  had  inherited  a  famous  name, 
and  a  fortune  not  at  all  commensurate  with  it,  in  his 
opinion.  His  father  had  been  a  Judge  and  his 
grandfather  a  Governor,  but  the  wealth  of  the  fam- 
ily decreased  with  the  former,  whose  tastes  were 
extravagant  and  whose  business  qualities  were  not 
of  the  highest  order.  At  the  age  of  nineteen,  how- 
ever, Douglass  had  given  little  thought  to  the  future. 
His  expenses  had  been  met  with  liberality  by  Mr. 
Blackstone  Coke,  the  well-known  lawyer,  in  whose 
charge  his  affairs  were  placed  by  his  father's  wilL 
He  had  been  allowed  to  do  about  as  he  pleased 
since  his  twelfth  year,  when  he  was  left  an  orphan 
and  had  divided  his  time  between  study  and  plea** 


"LDTT?    WHAT'S  LUW?"  83 

ure,  with  hardly  nny  attempt  being  made  to  guide 
him. 

He  knew  in  a  general  way  that  he  would  not  be  a 
rich  man,  but  he  could  not  have  told  within  fifty 
per  cent,  the  amount  of  money  at  any  time  remain- 
ing in  the  hands  of  his  father's  executor  and  trustee. 
Mr.  Coke  was  a  gentleman  who  disliked  going  into 
particulars,  and  Douglass  was  a  client  after  his  own 
heart.  All  he  had  ever  said  to  young  Maybury  was 
that  he  should,  by-and-by,  make  a  wealthy  marriage, 
and  that  his  small  fortune  would  probably  suffice  till 
this  was  accomplished. 

Maybury  repeated  this  to  a  member  of  his  club 
with  whom  he  was  on  terms  of  intimacy,  Mr.  David 
Bayley,  an  architect  who  had  already  attracted 
attention  among  the  upper  circles  for  the  quality  of 
the  work  he  was  doing.  There  was  eight  or  nine 
years  difference  in  their  ages,  but  Mr.  Bayley  was  a 
man  who  could  adapt  himself  to  all  kinds  of  people, 
and  he  found  the  "  boy,"  as  he  then  mentally  styled 
him,  rather  interesting. 

"  What  an  old  ass  Coke  is  to  say  a  thing  like  that 
to  me  !"  was  the  way  Douglass  supplemented  his 
information.  "  Marry  ?  /  marry  !  I  would  as  soon 
cut  my  throat." 

"  He  didn't  mean  that  you  were  to  hurry  about  it, 
I  don't  imagine,"  rejoined  the  Architect.  "  It's  a 
thing  most  men  do,  you  know,  at  some  time  in  their 
lives.  And  it's  very  good  form  now-a-days  to  think 
of  money  and  matrimony  in  the  same  connection. 
The  old-fashioned  ideas  of  love,  and  love  alone,  do 
not  obtain  any  more  in  American  society.  Tenny- 
son puts  it  very  well  in  his  Northern  Farmer  : 


34  Yotnre  MMS  CUDDT- 

4  Luw  ?    What's  IUVY  >    thou  can  luw  thy  lass  an*  h«r 

munny  too, 
Maakin'  'em  goa  togither  as  they've  good  right  to  do.' " 

Young  Maybury  showed  plainly  on  his  face  the 
disgust  that  he  felt. 

"  It's  too  commercial,"  he  said,  "  to  think  of  it  in 
that  way.  It's  like  putting  one's  self  up  to  the  high- 
est bidder,  like  a  prize  donkey." 

"But  you  must  get  money  somewhere," urged  the 
Architect.  "  You  wouldn't  like  to  go  into  trade, 
would  you,  and  you've  never  begun  to  fit  yourself 
for  a  profession.  How  have  you  planned  to  fill  that 
purse  of  yours  when  you  find  it  becoming  empty  ?" 

The  young  man  lifted  his  eyebrows  as  ff  this  was 
a  new  thought  to  him. 

"  I  might  buy  a  kit  of  burglar's  tools,"  he  replied, 
'  and  go  to  cracking  safes.  It  seems  to  me,  on  the 
/vhole,  more  respectable  than  to  sell  my  body  and 
«oul  to  some  rich  man's  daughter.  Speaking  of  rich 
men,  you  know  Senator  Scarlett  pretty  well.  Could 
you  give  me  a  resume  of  his  history  ?" 

Without  dreaming  that  there  would  come  a  time 
in  the  future  when  he  might  regret  the  freedom,  Mr. 
Bayley  obligingly  detailed  to  his  friend  all  he  knew 
of  Scarlett.  He  had  heard  of  the  low  origin  of  the 
millionaire,  his  enrichment  out  of  the  railroad  he 
built,  his  practical  purchase  of  his  seat  in  the  Senate, 
and  most  of  the  rest  of  the  story  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  And  he  told  it  all  without  reserve,  with  the 
air  of  a  man  who  likes  to  show  that  he  knows  what 
is  going  on  in  the  world. 

"  But  his  first  actual  start  on  the  highway  to  finan- 
cial success  came  in  just  the  way  we  were  recently 


"LTTWf     WHAT'S   LUVV  ?"  35 

talking  about,"  said  Bay  ley.  "  He  got  into  a  railroad 
office,  and  gained  some  promotion  by  his  industry 
and  brightness;  but  that  wouldn't  have  amounted  to 
much  if  he  hadn't  married  a  daughter  of  one  of  the 
high  officials  of  the  road.  There  is  a  rumor  that  the 
marriage  was  clandestine — a  case  of  runaway,  denun- 
ciation and  subsequent  forgiveness — but  I'm  not 
able  to  swear  to  that.  He  certainly  married  a  small 
fortune,  a  hundred  thousand  or  so,  and  used  it  as  a 
lever  to  raise  himself  to  his  present  position." 

Mr.  Maybury  looked  thoughtful. 

"  And  the  wife  ?"  he  asked. 

"She  died,  poor  girl,  when  the  daughter  was  very 
young.  Oh,  yes,  I  suppose  he  regretted  her,  and  it 
is  unlikely  he  will  ever  marry  again.  But  Scarlett" 
— here  the  Architect  lowered  his  voice — "  is  not  a 
saint  in  the  matter  of  women.  He  has  a  mistress, 
they  say,  at  each  of  his  principal  stopping-places, 
one  here,  one  in  Van  Buren  and  one  in  Washington. 
That  doesn't  prove  that  he  didn't  love  his  wife, 
though.  The  most  devoted  husband  I  ever  knew,  a 
man  who  fairly  worshipped  his  spouse,  lost  his  life 
in  a  house  of  ill-fame  at  Boston.  The  lace  curtains 
caught  from  the  gas-jet  and  set  a  bed  on  fire, 
endangering  the  girl,  and  the  brave  fellow  died 
from  injuries  received  in  putting  out  the  flames." 

The  listener  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Things  have  got  to  be  pretty  bad,  haven't  they  ?" 
he  replied.  "  Were  they  always  so,  or  has  this  age 
gone  to  the  devil,  all  by  itself  ?" 

The  Architect  cited  several  cases  in  history  to 
•how  that  lapses  in  marital  fidelity  were  not  wholly 
original  to  this  century.  Then  he  looked  at  his 
watch  and  remarked  that  he  had  an  engagement. 


3b  TOUNO   MIBi   OIDDT. 

The  next  day  Douglass  May  bury  came  near  for- 
getting the  appointment  that  he  had  with  the  pretty 
child  he  had  first  seen  in  front  of  the  Scarlett  resi- 
dence on  Fifty-second  street.  Hastening  out  of 
doors  at  seven  o'clock,  he  sprang  into  a  cab  and 
gave  the  driver  a  direction  that  nearly  made  the  man 
fall  off  his  box. 

"  Avenue  A  !"  exclaimed  the  cabby.  "  Did  you 
say  Avenue  A  f" 

Maybury  coolly  repeated  the  direction,  specifying 
anew  the  little  park  that  was  just  beyond  the 
avenue,  near  the  corner  of  — th  street.  And  the 
driver  took  up  his  whip  and  gave  his  astonished 
horse  a  clip  as  if  the  animal  was  to  blame  for  the 
sarcastic  manner  of  his  passenger. 

The  carpenter's  little  daughter  was  somewhat 
abashed  when  she  saw  the  carriage  stop  and  the 
young  gentleman  alight.  He  looked  to  her  a  much 
more  important  and  formidable  individual  than  he 
did  when  she  found  him,  a  mere  foot  passenger  like 
herself,  on  the  pavement.  Instead  of  rushing  up  to 
him  tumultuously,  as  she  had  intended,  and  plying 
him  with  questions,  she  waited  demurely  for  him  to 
speak.  Maybury  walked  over  to  Esther  and  held 
out  his  hand  frankly. 

"Well,  I  am  here,  you  see,"  he  exclaimed.  "  And 
I  have  learned  all  I  could  about  our  friend,  the 
millionaire,  with  the  daughter  who  drives  her  own 
ponies." 

With  that  he  motioned  the  child  to  a  seat  on  a 
bench  near  by,  and  placed  himself  by  her  side.  For 
fifteen  minutes  she  listened  to  him  with  all  th« 
interest  in  the  world,  and  when  he  ended  his  recitaJ 


WHAT'S  LUW?"  37 

she  wore  the  expression  of  one  who  is  much  dis- 
appointed. 

"  Then  Mr.  Scarlett  did  not  make  all  his  money, 
himself,"  she  said,  summing  up  what  he  had  told  her. 
"  He  began  by  marrying  a  lady  who  had  property." 

"  Exactly,"  replied  Douglass.  "  And  that  is  not  so 
bad  a  point  for  you  to  know,"  he  added,  half  in 
earnest,  half  in  joke.  "  If  you  are  ever  to  be  rich 
you  will  more  than  likely  become  so  by  marriage." 

Whatever  of  humor  there  might  be  in  this  subject 
for  him,  there  was  none  whatever  for  his  little  com- 
panion. 

"Rich  young  men  do  not  marry  the  daughters  of 
carpenters,"  she  said,  dolefully.  "  They  never  come 
down  to  Avenue  A  for  their  wives." 

"  But  they  may  some  day,"  he  said.  "  Who 
knows  ?" 

She  shook  her  head  very  decidedly,  as  if  she  did 
not  believe  it. 

"  You  are  a  rich  young  man  yourself,  are  you 
not?  You  rode  here  to-night  in  a  carriage,  and  you 
look  like  those  I  have  seen  walking  on  Fifth  avenue 
Sunday  after  church.  Now,  if  you  wanted  to  marry, 
do  you  think  you  would  come  over  to  this  neighbor- 
hood ?" 

He  didn't  think  so  in  the  least,  but  politeness 
sometimes  demands  that  answers  be  given  an  eva- 
sive quality. 

"I  might,"  he  replied,  smilingly.  "  But,  really,  I 
am  not  rich,  nor  anything  like  it.  What  money  I 
have  is  going  rapidly  and  will  soon  be  gone." 

"Do  you  work  at  anything?"  she  asked. 

"  Well,  not  just  yet.     I  have  been  going  to  school 


38  YOUNG  nits 

— and  traveling.  But  I  shall  have  to  do  something 
by-and-by." 

She  looked  him  over,  from  head  to  foot. 

"What  could  you  do  ?" 

There  was  a  certain  contemptuousness  in  the  ques- 
tion and  in  the  manner  of  asking  it  that  did  not 
escape  him  ;  but  he  was  rather  amused  than  other- 
wise. 

"You  must  not  be  too  hard  on  me,  Esther,"  he 
protested.  "  I  shall  come  out  all  right ;  only  give  me 
time." 

She  colored  because  he  read  her  thoughts  so 
accurately.  But  she  was  not  the  girl  to  pretend  any- 
thing she  did  not  feel. 

"  tf  you  are  not  rich  there  is  on/y  one  way  you 
ever  will  be,"  she  persisted.  "You  will  have  to  marry 
money,  as  Mr.  Scarlett  did." 

His  face  grew  darker  at  that.  Must  even  this  child 
of  the  East-side  diagnose  his  fate  like  all  the  others? 
Mr.  David  Bayley  had  told  him  the  same  thing,  and 
Mr.  Blackstone  Coke,  and  dozens  of  people  during 
the  last  year  had  intimated  it.  And  he  was  not  yet 
twenty  ! 

"  Well,  Esther,"  he  said,  "  I  have  kept  my  promise. 
I  have  told  you  all  I  know  about  money-getting. 
And  now  let  me  advise  you  to  be  a  wise  and  sensible 
little  girl,  and  put  such  matters  out  of  your  mind 
for  the  next  five  years.  All  you  ought  to  do  now  is 
to  go  to  school,  study  hard,  and  read  all  the  good 
books  you  can  find.  What  is  your  age  ?" 

"Thirteen,"  she  told  him,  with  a  gesture  of  de- 
fiance. 

*  When  you  are  seventeen  it  will   be  time  enough 


*LUTT?    WHAffl  LTrrrr*  89 

to  begin  to  plan  your  future.  You  can  do  nothing 
before  then,  and  you  are  only  wasting  your  time." 

He  was  talking  as  she  feared  he  would  when  she 
saw  that  he  came  in  a  cab.  If  she  had  known  he 
was  this  kind  of  a  man  she  would  never  have  opened 
her  heart  to  him  in  the  first  place.  Her  disappoint- 
ment was  keen,  for  she  had  hoped  for  much  from 
this  interview.  She  looked  at  the  small  tufts  of 
grass  that  had  escaped  the  feet  of  the  visitors  to  the 
park,  and  did  not  speak. 

"Come,  Esther,  what  do  you  say?" 

"  I  say  I  will  do  nothing  of  the  kind  I"  she 
snapped.  "In  two  years  my  stepmother  will  want 
to  put  me  into  a  shop  to  work,  and  I  never  will  go, 
never !  do  you  hear  ?  And  then  there  will  be 
trouble.  My  father  does  whatever  she  tells  him  ; 
he  has  no  mind  of  his  own.  And  what  could  he  do 
if  he  had  ever  so  good  a  will  ?  He  is  a  carpenter — 
that  is  all  !  He  can  talk  about  pine  and  spruce  and 
walnut,  he  can  saw  and  drive  nails  and  hammer  a 
chisel  !  Yes,  and  he  can  go  to  meetings  of  the 
Socialists,  too,  and  come  home  saying  that  the  rich 
men  are  oppressing  those  who  toil,  and  that  it  is 
time  the  workmen  made  different  laws  and  arranged 
things  to  suit  themselves  !  He  can  do  all  that,  but 
he  has  no  more  idea  how  to  get  above  his  station 
than  a  spike  !  And  I  live  with  him,  and  with  her, 
and  with  that  brother  of  mine  that  you  saw,  and 
listen  to  them,  all  day  and  all  the  evening,  until  I 
am  ready  to  burst  with  vexation  !  I  do  not  belong 
in  that  family,  everyone  says  so  ;  there  was  certainly 
a  mistake  in  my  ever  being  born  there.  I  ought  to 
have  come  to  the  other  side  of  Fourth  avenue  ;  I 
know  it  as  well  as  I  know  I  breathe  !  And  I  am 


40  TOUHO  MI8B   GIDDY. 

going  to  get  there — somehow  !  '  Wait  till  I  am 
seventeen/  indeed  !  By  that  time  I  should  be  a 
factory  girl,  tied  down  for  life  to  a  dollar  a  day, 
looking  like  those  things  that  come  home  at  six 
o'clock  with  their  faces  drawn  and  wrinkled  and 
their  backs  stooping  over  !  No,  I  won't  do  it.  I 
couldn't !" 

And  the  astonished  young  gentleman  saw  the 
child,  who  had  thrown  these  expressions  at  him  as 
rapidly  as  her  little  tongue  could  utter  them,  set  off 
at  a  rapid  pace  in  the  direction  of  her  home,  paying 
no  attention  whatever  to  his  calls  for  her  to  return 
and  talk  it  over  with  him. 

Douglass  could  not  believe  Esther  meant  to  leave 
him  altogether.  When  he  saw  she  did  not  turn  her 
head  he  followed  her  into  the  street,  and  went 
quite  a  distance  after  her,  with  rapid  steps.  But 
though  she  did  not  look  around,  she  knew  that  he 
was  coming  and  presently  broke  into  a  run  and  dis- 
tanced him.  He  did  not  propose  to  enter  into  a 
race  with  her,  and  in  a  short  time  he  retraced  his 
way  and  left  the  neighborhood. 

When  one  has  no  definite  plans  or  purposes  in 
life  it  takes  very  little  to  influence  his  acts.  Several 
days  later  Maybury  learned  that  a  friend  of  his,  a 
young  physician  named  Parton,  was  about  to  start 
on  a  trip  abroad.  Douglass  had  spent  a  portion  of 
his  boyhood  in  Europe,  and  had  thought  for  some 
time  of  taking  another  journey  to  that  part  of  the 
world.  Parton  was  a  fellow  he  had  learned  to  like, 
and  it  struck  him  as  a  good  idea  when  the  doctor 
suggested  that  they  go  together. 

"  It  would  be  extremely  agreeable,"  said  Parton, 
with  a  languid  air  that  was  common  to  him.  **  I 


WLUW?    WHAT'S  LUW?"  41 

would  even  wait  a  week  or  two  for  you  to  get  ready, 
if  necessary." 

Maybury  laughed  at  this,  saying  he  had  nothing  to 
do  but  pack  a  trunk,  and  that  twenty-four  hours 
would  be  more  than  ample  for  all  his  preparations. 
It  was  therefore  agreed  that  they  should  go  on  the 
next  steamer,  and  state-rooms  were  engaged  accord- 
ingly. 

Mr.  Blackstone  Coke,  on  being  informed  of  these 
things,  merely  said  he  hoped  Mr.  Maybury  would 
enjoy  himself.  The  requisite  letter  of  credit  would 
be  sent  to  his  hotel  that  afternoon.  He  was  turning 
to  his  books  again  when  Douglass  asked  a  question  : 

"That  cash  of  mine — it  won't  run  out  when  I  am 
on  the  other  side,  I  hope,  and  leave  me  the  disagree- 
able necessity  of  walking  back  ?" 

"  No.  If  you  are  at  all  reasonable  it  will  last  you 
some  time  yet." 

"But  it  is  gradually  growing  '  smaller  by  degrees 
and  beautifully  less,'  I  understand,"  said  Maybury, 
"  to  use  the  expression  of  the  poet  ?" 

Mr.  Coke  nodded. 

"  And  when  it  gets  near  its  end,  you  perhaps  expect 
me  to  take  your  advice,  and  marry  some  girl  with 
money  ?" 

Mr.  Coke  nodded  again,  much  as  if  he  had  been 
asked  if  it  was  past  eleven. 

"Well,  I  shall  never  do  it  !"  cried  the  young  man, 
imitating  Esther  Strange  unconsciously.  Then,  as  it 
occurred  to  him  whose  words  he  was  mimicking,  he 
laughed.  "Tell  me  to  a  minute  how  long  it  will  last, 
that  I  may  be  prepared." 

The  lawyer  did  not  take  the  trouble  even  to  look 
in  the  ledger  in  his  safe  containing  an  accurate 


48  TOUWG   MI88   OIDDT. 

account  of  the  Maybury  property,  as  well  as  of  a 
hundred  others  of  which  he  was  the  custodian.  He 
merely  consulted  his  memory,  fully  as  apt  to  be  cor- 
rect in  such  matters. 

"You  have  been  drawing  at  the  rate  of  $5,000  a 
year,"  he  said.  "  You  will  probably  wish  to  in- 
crease that  by  fifty  per  cent,  while  you  are  abroad. 
If  you  do  not  exceed  that  amount — that  is  to  say 
$7,500 — you  may  rely  on  my  supplying  your  wants 
for  something  like  five  years  more.  If  you  spend 
less  or  indulge  in  greater  drafts  on  your  money,  you 
can  easily  figure  out  the  difference  in  dates." 

"The  devil  !"  exclaimed  Maybury,  disgusted. 
"  Is  it  as  bad  as  that  ?  What  a  thoughtless  set  of 
people  my  ancestors  must  have  been  !  I  ought  to 
have  had  a  fortune  something  like  Augustus  Scar- 
lett's." 

Mr.  Blackstone  Coke  lifted  his  gaze  directly  at  the 
speaker. 

"  That  is  easy  enough  for  you  to  accomplish,"  he 
said,  quietly. 

"  Easy  enough  ?"  repeated  the  younger  man. 

"  Undoubtedly.  You  are  nineteen.  The  Senator 
has  a  daughter  who  is  fifteen,  or  thereabouts.  You 
know  the  family.  They  like  you.  Keep  on  good 
terms  with  them,  wait  a  proper  time — not  too  long  ; 
say  till  you  are  twenty-three  and  she  is  nineteen. 
Then — " 

He  did  not  finish  the  sentence  with  words,  as  they 
seemed  superfluous  ;  and  Mr.  Coke  was  not  given 
to  superfluous  language. 

Douglass  looked  at  the  lawyer  with  rising  indig- 
nation. Must  this  man  not  only  join  the  ranks  of 
those  who  assumed  to  advise  him  to  marry  for 


"  LUVV  ?    WHAT'S  LCTV  ?•*  43 

money,  but  go  farther  yet  and  name  the  identical 
party  of  the  second  part !  A  member  of  the  bar  for 
fifty  years,  who  had  handled  the  funds  of  three  gen- 
erations of  Mayburys  in  a  large  measure  ;  a  man 
with  white  hair  and  a  benignant  beard,  and  gold- 
bowed  spectacles.  What  an  old  wretch  he  was  !  It 
would  be  useless  to  enter  into  an  argument  with 
him,  however,  and  with  a  word  of  farewell  the  client 
left  the  office. 

There  were  only  a  few  calls  to  make  before  his 
steamer  left  her  dock,  and  something  drew  the 
young  fellow  in  spite  of  himself  to  Fifty-second 
street.  He  wanted  to  take  another  look  at  that 
handsome  little  daughter  of  Senator  Scarlett's,  th« 
girl  that  silly  old  lawyer  had  advised  him  to  marry  ! 
He  knew  the  Senator  well — his  father  had  taken 
him  there  in  the  first  place, — and  he  had  seen  Miss 
Flora  frequently  from  the  days  when  she  wore  pina- 
fores. He  had  never  thought  of  her  as  a  woman,  or 
as  one  who  would  ever  be  anything  but  a  sweet, 
winsome  child,  her  father's  pet  and  the  idol  of  the 
servants. 

Flora  came  into  the  parlor  to  say  good-bye  to 
him,  when  the  Senator  sent  out  for  her.  And  Doug- 
lass saw  she  was  certainly  going  to  be  a  woman  and 
a  very  beautiful  one  before  long. 

"You  may  see  May  and  me  in  Europe  if  you  stay 
six  months,"  said  Mr.  Scarlett.  "We  have  been 
there  a  good  deal  already,  you  know.  May  has  spent 
at  least  half  her  life  abroad,  and  there  are  things  she 
will  have  to  go  back  to  complete.  A  letter  sent  in 
care  of  the  Barings  will  reach  you,  I  presume  ?" 

The   Senator  always    called   his   daughter   May. 


44  YOUNG    MISS    6IDDT. 

Almost  every  one  else  spoke  of  her  by  her  other 
name. 

On  the  next  Saturday  young  Maybury  sailed,  and 
for  two  years  he  did  not  set  foot  on  American  shores. 
During  the  latter  part  of  his  stay  he  met  the  Scar- 
letts  and  saw  a  great  deal  of  them. 

And  all  this  time  Esther  Strange  never  relinquished 
her  determination  to  be  "  a  lady,"  cost  what  it 
might.  She  went  frequently  to  the  little  park  where 
she  had  met  the  stranger,  hoping  that  he  would 
seek  her  there,  notwithstanding  the  rude  way  in 
which  she  had  left  him.  Then,  emboldened,  she 
sought  the  address  on  the  card  he  had  given  her, 
and  experienced  a  severe  setback  when  a  servant 
told  her  that  he  had  left  the  country  and  would  not 
return  for  many  months. 

But  she  was  not  discouraged. 

"  I  -will  be  a  rich  lady  some  day,"  she  kept  insisting 
to  herself.  "There  are  ways  by  which  one  can  get 
money,  and  I  will  find  out  what  they  are." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ESTHER'S  STRIKE  FOR  FREEDOM. 

Those  who  knew  Charles  Scarlett,  the  Senator's 
son,  never  expected  that  his  father  would  make  a 
very  great  confidant  of  him.  He  seemed  to  have 
inherited  little  of  the  nature  of  this  parent,  the 
keen,  shrewd  man  of  business,  who,  while  "grasp- 
ing the  skirts  of  happy  chance,"  and  "  breasting  the 


ESTHER'S  STRIKE  FOB  FREEDOM.  45 

blows  of  circumstance,"  had  still  found  time  for  the 
pleasant  leisure  of  life  and  all  the  reasonable  enjoy- 
ments that  money  can  bring.  Those  who  had 
known  his  mother  said  he  reminded  them  of  her,  as 
did  also  his  sister  Flora.  Both  gave  many  evi- 
dences of  their  descent  from  that  sweet-tempered, 
exceedingly  gentle,  but  ill-fated  lady. 

Charles  had  never  been  delicate,  as  the  phrase  is 
used.  Though  not  addicted  to  athletic  sports  he 
had  had  no  serious  illness.  He  was  thoughtful  and 
studious,  and  his  chief  trait  was  generosity.  In  those 
earlier  years  when  it  first  dawned  on  his  mind  that 
there  were  many  in  the  world  with  less  than  he,  he 
would  have  been  willing,  like  the  young  Louis 
Napoleon,  to  give  away  the  shoes  on  his  feet. 
Before  he  was  ten  years  old  his  favorite  way  of 
enjoying  himself  was  to  take  a  carriage  and  one  of 
the  servants  and  seek  the  poorer  quarters  with  a 
load  of  necessaries  to  be  distributed.  And  he 
seldom  returned  without  traces  of  the  tears  he  had 
shed  because  there  were  so  many  that  he  could  not 
supply. 

Mr.  Scarlett,  Sr.,  believed  in  letting  children  fol- 
low their  own  inclinations  as  far  as  possible.  He 
was  generous  in  his  own  way,  putting  down  his 
name  for  large  sums  on  subscription  papers,  but  he 
would  have  submitted  to  almost  any  fine  rather 
than  go  "  slumming,"  as  his  son  did.  Charles 
showed  no  inclination  to  adopt  any  of  the  profes- 
sions, and  an  infant  knew  nearly  as  much  about 
what  is  termed  business.  It  was  evident  that  he 
was  meant  for  a  scholar  and  a  philanthropist. 

Had  Charles  been  able  to  reconcile  the  dogmas 
of  the  various  sects,  he  might  have  turned  out  a 


445  TOTTNG   MISS    GIDDY. 

missionary,  for  he  had  the  spirit  of  which  such  me* 
are  made.  Bat  he  could  not  get  interested  in 
theology,  though  he  studied  it  for  some  time.  He 
had  a  mind  broader  than  any  of  the  creeds.  He 
carved  out  for  himself  a  natural  religion  that  suited 
him  better  than  any  of  the  ready-made  articles  so 
freely  offered  for  sale.  The  heathen  he  most  wanted 
to  reach  were  close  to  his  own  door.  They  needed 
bread  and  clothes  and  soap  more  than  they  did 
doctrine.  His  field  was  wider  than  he  could  ever 
hope  to  cover.  It  seemed  to  him  that  he  could  do 
more  good  right  there  in  New  York  than  on  the 
banks  of  the  Zambesi  or  the  Hoang-Ho. 

With  these  views  it  was  natural  that  he  mixed 
little  in  what  is  called  society.  His  associates  were 
mostly  of  the  poorer  classes  and  of  men  and  woman 
of  his  own  belief.  Oppressed  with  the  immensity  of 
the  work  that  opened  before  him,  he  found  no  time 
for  the  merely  ornamental  things  of  life.  He  loved 
his  father  with  an  almost  idolatrous  devotion  and 
felt  for  his  sister  the  tenderest  sentiments.  But 
these  were  not  the  ones  who  needed  his  care. 

Among  the  more  intelligent  of  the  laboring  class 
that  Charles  Scarlett  was  thrown  in  contact  with, 
was  a  carpenter  named  Lyman  Strange.  He  had 
spent  many  evenings  in  the  company  of  this  man, 
impressed  with  the  fairness  with  which  he  was 
willing  to  discuss  questions  that  so  often  arouse 
bitterness  of  feeling.  One  evening,  shortly  before 
Maybury  returned  from  Europe,  Charles  accom- 
panied Mr.  Strange  to  a  meeting  of  dissatisfied 
mechanics,  where  some  rather  severe  things  were 
said  against  the  wealthier  employing  classes,  things 


ESTHEB'S  STRIKE  FOB  FKKKDOM.  47 

that  struck  home  to  Mr.  Scarlett,  Jr.,  in  a  way  that 
nothing  up  to  that  time  had  done. 

The  principal  speaker  of  the  evening  was  a  man 
named  Michael  Lacy,  who  was  not  in  the  habit  of 
measuring  his  words  nor  of  confining  his  expressions 
to  the  choicest  language.  He  declared,  in  as  plain 
English  as  he  knew  how  to  use,  that  all  large 
employers  of  labor  were  robbers  ;  that  the  mine 
owners  and  railroad  stockholders  were  bands  of 
cutthroats,  whose  earnings  ought  to  be  taken  from 
them  and  distributed  among  the  poor,  from  whom 
they  had  been  stolen. 

Young  Mr.  Scarlett  felt  his  cheeks  burn.  That 
man  was  talking  about  his  father  !  He  was  alleging 
dishonesty  on  the  part  of  that  revered  gentleman, 
whom  everybody — he  supposed  up  to  that  time — 
respected,  and  whom  a  great  State  had  chosen  to 
represent  it  in  the  highest  council  in  the  nation  ! 
He  wanted  to  rise  in  his  place  and  demand  that  the 
speaker  retract  his  charges,  but  he  felt  too  agitated 
to  make  the  attempt. 

When  the  meeting  adjourned  he  left  the  hall  with 
Mr.  Strange,  the  applause  that  had  greeted  the 
incendiary  utterances  still  ringing  in  his  ears. 

"  I  shall  quit  going  to  these  meetings  if  men  are 
permitted  to  utter  such  libels  !"  he  exclaimed,  as 
soon  as  he  was  out  of  reach  of  the  crowd.  "  I  won- 
der some  one  did  not  reply  to  those  thrusts  at  the 
solid  men  of  the  country.  There  must  be  level- 
headed fellows  who  don't  agree  with  that  nonsen- 
sical stuff.  Employers  'cutthroats  and  robbers,' 
indeed  !  I'd  like  to  know  what  the  poor  would  do 
if  there  were  no  capitalists  to  give  them  work. 
They  couldn't  build  a  railroad  or  open  a  rmne  with 


48  YOTTNO   HIM  GIDDT. 

their  hands  alone.  In  these  times,  when  there  are  so 
many  people  idle  for  want  of  something  to  do,  it  is 
very  ungracious  to  attack  enterprising  men  who  are 
making  places  for  them  to  earn  wages  in." 

Mr.  Strange  had  no  intention  of  becoming  involved 
in  a  personal  controversy  with  this  young  man.  He 
sympathized  with  the  filial  feeling  that  had  been 
aroused  as  much  as  he  indorsed  most  of  the  remarks 
which  provoked  it. 

"Have  you  ever  read  a  book  called  'Looking 
Backward  ?'  "  he  asked,  quietly. 

It  seemed  a  queer  way  to  meet  the  point,  and 
Charles  Scarlett  looked  the  surprise  he  felt. 

"  I  have  not  even  heard  of  it,"  he  answered. 

"  It  hasn't  been  out  long,"  said  Mr.  Strange.  "  I 
think  you'd  like  it.  It  has  a  good  many  new  ideas, 
or  at  least  ideas  put  into  new  form.  I've  got  a  copy 
I'll  lend  you,  if  you  like,  as  it  isn't  sold  yet  at  many 
of  the  stores." 

Charles  listened  with  contracted  brows. 

"If  the  ideas  are  like  Lacy's,  I  don't  want  to  read 
it,"  he  said,  with  an  asperity  that  was  foreign  to  his 
nature. 

"  Well,  they're  not  ex-act-ly  like  them,"  replied 
the  carpenter  ;  "  they  present  a  view  of  the  capi- 
tal and  labor  question  different  from  anything  I've 
seen  before.  You  see,  Mr.  Scarlett,  there's  been  a 
feeling  of  antagonism  between  the  classes  for  a  good 
many  years.  The  capitalists  think  the  laborer  wants 
too  much,  and  the  workmen  think  the  rich  men  pile 
up  their  wealth  too  fast.  Now,  this  book  I'm  speak- 
ing of  has  a  remedy  for  all  this.  It  proposes  to 
abolish  both  the  employer  and  the  employe." 

The  millionaire's  son  looked  incredulous. 


ESTHER'S  STRIKE  FOR  FREEDOM.  49 

*  The  author  intends  to  depopulate  the  earth  ?" 

"  Not  at  all.  He  only  proposes  to  destroy  private 
capital,  putting  all  the  gains  of  labor  at  the  disposal 
of  those  who  earn  them." 

Charles  threw  up  his  head  with  ill-concealed  con- 
tempt. 

"  Pshaw !  That's  the  communistic  idea  over 
again  !  I  hope  you  haven't  given  your  adhesion  to 
such  trash  as  that." 

The  carpenter  saw  that  his  friend  was  unusually 
irritable,  but  he  maintained  the  unruffled  attitude 
that  was  habitual  with  him. 

"Just  read  the  book  and  then  we  can  discuss  it 
afterwards,"  he  said,  mildly.  "  I'm  sure  you'll  like 
it." 

"If  it's  a  defender  of  communism  I  won't  touch 
it !"  was  the  retort.  "  I've  read  all  of  that  I'm  going 
to.  There  is  just  one  object  in  all  of  them,  that  of 
dragging  humanity  down  to  a  common  level." 

"  But  this  book  shows  how  to  lift  all  humanity  up 
to  a  common  level,"  replied  Mr.  Strange,  impres- 
sively. 

The  effect  was  instantaneous.  The  entire  nature  of 
Charles  Scarlett  palpitated  with  joy  at  the  prospect 
held  forth  in  the  words  of  the  artisan. 

"  If  that  could  be  done — "  He  paused,  overcome 
with  the  thought.  "  If  that  could  be  done,  Mr. 
Strange,  the  great  problem  would  indeed  be  solved. 
I  will  go  with  you  to  your  house  and  take  the  book 
home  with  me.  I  am  only  too  anxious  to  read  it. 
What  is  the  name  of  its  author?" 

But  the  carpenter  was  obliged  to  admit  that  he 
had  forgotten.  It  was  some  one  of  whom  he  had 
never  heard  before.  The  book  had  not  made  any 


50  YODNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

great  sensation  yet,  but  it  was  sure  to  do  so  in  time. 
It  was  the  simplest,  most  convincing  work  he  had 
ever  read.  When  his  friend  had  finished  it  he  would 
like  to  talk  it  over  with  him. 

"  You  must  know,  Mr.  Scarlett,"  he  added,  "  that 
ill  feeling  is  growing  between  the  rich  and  the  poor 
at  a  frightful  rate.  I  don't  say  which  is  the  most  at 
fault;  probably  the  blame  is  nearly  equally  divided; 
but  there'll  be  trouble  of  no  small  magnitude  if 
something  isn't  done.  Hardly  a  day  passes  without 
the  papers  giving  accounts  of  strikes  and  lockouts, 
accompanied  by  assaults,  calling  out  of  militia, 
swearing  in  of  extra  constables  and  things  of  that 
kind.  We've  got  a  country  where  freedom  is  sup- 
posed to  exist  and  where  we  ought  to  expect  tran- 
quility,  but  a  guerrilla  warfare  is  being  constantly 
waged.  No  adequate  remedy  had  been  proposed 
until  the  appearance  of  this  book;  at  least,  nothing 
that  was  presented  in  an  apparently  feasible  light. 
We  have  to  take  folks  as  we  find  them.  If  all  the 
workingmen  were  sensible,  and  if  all  the  rich  employ- 
ers were  as  honorable  and  fair  as  you  would  be — " 

The  speaker  was  stopped  by  a  motion  on  the  part 
of  the  other. 

"  You  know  I  dislike  compliments,"  he  said.  "  But, 
speaking  of  labor,  is  it  not  a  fact  that  most  of  the 
discontent  is  fomented  by  foreigners  who  have  a 
natural  taste  for  breeding  discord  ?" 

Mr.  Strange  shook  his  head  slowly. 

"  They  may  be  the  spokesmen,"  he  replied,  "  but 
their  sentiments  are  voiced  by  the  others.  Nearly 
all  laborers  feel  that  there  isn't  a  fair  division." 

The  representative  of  wealth  lifted  his  quiet  eyes 
to  those  of  the  worker  in  wood. 


EBTHER'S  STRIKE  FOR  FREEDOM.  51 

"  Division  !"  he  echoed.  "  Why  should  there  be  a 
division  ?  That  is  the  basis  of  the  whole  trouble,  a 
mistaken  idea  from  first  to  last.  No  one  will  accuse 
me  of  lack  of  sympathy  with  those  who  labor,  but 
they  have  burdened  their  minds  with  a  false  con- 
ception. Capital  and  labor  are  each  entitled  to 
what  belongs  to  them.  If  I  raise  a  crop  on  my  land, 
and  another  man  neglects  his,  what  business  has  he 
to  ask  that  I  divide  ?  Unless  he  has  been  ill  or  met 
with  an  accident,  he  has  no  claim  to  what  I  have 
accumulated.  Put  the  thing  in  a  simpler  form,  if 
you  like.  Say  that  you  earned  twenty-five  dollars 
last  week — " 

"  Sixteen,"  corrected  the  matter-of-fact  listener. 

"Sixteen,  then,"  said  Mr.  Scarlett,  with  a  slight 
flush.  "  Whatever  you  earned,  it  is  the  same.  You 
take  your  wages  and  start  toward  home,  when  an- 
other man,  who  has  not  earned  anything,  stops  you 
and  demands  that  you  divide  with  him.  How  would 
you  take  the  proposition,  put  in  that  concrete  form  ?" 

The  carpenter  shook  his  head  with  a  smile. 

"It  used  to  be  hard  to  meet  such  arguments," 
said  he,  "  but  it  will  be  easier  when  everybody  has 
read  'Looking  Backward.'  The  author  has  such  a 
wise  plan  that  the  old  controversies  seem  a  waste  of 
time.  Read  it,  Mr.  Scarlett,  and  then  we  can  discuss 
these  things  on  an  entirely  new  basis." 

His  curiosity  now  being  piqued  to  the  utmost, 
Charles  was  glad  when  they  reached  the  carpenter's 
abode.  Though  in  what  was  undoubtedly  a  poor 
neighborhood — for  where  else  can  the  mechanic 
afford  to  live  in  New  York  ? — not  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
separated  it  from  the  gorgeous  palaces  of  million- 


52  YOUNG   MISS    GIDDY. 

aires.  The  rich  man's  son  climbed  the  three  flights 
of  stairs  that  led  to  the  box-like  apartment  occupied 
by  the  family,  consisting  of  Mr.  Strange,  his  second 
wife,  his  daughter  Esther  and  his  son  Austin,  now  in 
his  nineteenth  year. 

"  Here's  the  book,"  said  the  carpenter,  taking  it 
from  a  case  where  were  fifteen  or  twenty  other  vol- 
umes. 

Mr.  Scarlett  took  it  in  his  hand  with  something 
like  reverence.  What  if  it  really  should  contain  a 
genuine  revelation  of  the  way  rich  and  poor  might 
become  reconciled  to  each  other  ! 

"  I'll  read  it  with  care,"  said  he,  "  and  when  I 
have  finished  it  I'll  come  and  see  you." 

His  anxiety  to  get  home,  where  he  could  begin  the 
reading  that  very  night,  induced  Mr.  Scarlett  to  take 
an  early  farewell.  As  he  passed  down  the  stairway 
he  found  Esther  Strange  in  the  lower  hall,  waiting 
for  him. 

"  Mr.  Scarlett,"  she  said,  in  a  quick  breathing  way, 
"  can  I  talk  with  you  a  few  minutes  ?" 

He  answered  in  the  affirmative,  at  the  same  time 
asking  why  she  had  not  made  known  her  desire 
before  her  family. 

"  I  don't  want  them  to  know  it,"  she  stammered. 
"  I  want  to  talk  with  you — all  alone.  There  is  a  lit- 
tle bit  of  a  park  not  far  up  the  street — you  know  the 
one.  I  want  you  to  go  there  and  let  me  follow." 

He  looked  at  her  narrowly.  She  was  well  devel- 
oped for  her  age,  rather  pretty,  very  neat  and  whole- 
some. He  wondered  what  she  could  want,  but  he 
said  without  delay  that  he  would  go  to  the  place 
indicated.  As  he  passed  along  the  street  he  heard 


her  following.  Arriving  at  the  bare  spot  of  ground 
which  she  had  designated  as  a  "park,"  he  took  a  seat 
on  a  bench  and  waited  for  her. 

"  No,  I  don't  care  to  sit  down,"  she  said,  as  he 
made  a  place  for  her  by  his  side.  *•  lean  talk  better 
standing.  It  is  this,  Mr.  Charles  :  I  want  you  to  find 
me  a  way  to  do  something,  to  be  something,  to  get  a 
chance  in  the  world.  My  father  is  a  carpenter.  He 
always  was  a  carpenter  ;  he  always  will  be  one.  My 
brother  Austin  works  with  the  same  kind  of  tools. 
My  stepmother  used  to  be  in  a  shop,  before  she  was 
married,  and  she  thinks  that  is  the  place  for  me.  But 
I  hate  shops.  I  see  girls  no  more  intelligent  than  I 
am,  getting  a — a  place.  You  can  help  me  out  of  this 
— this  low  life  I  was  born  in.  You  can  do  it,  and  I 
don't  know  any  one  else  that  can." 

She  had  spoken  with  the  utmost  rapidity,  but  he 
had  comprehended  it  all,  as  far  as  the  words  went. 

"  I  don't  understand  exactly  what  you  expect  me 
to  do,"  he  answered,  gravely. 

"Don't  you?"  She  seemed  considerably  disap» 
pointed.  "  I  don't  see  how  I  can  make  it  plainer. 
You  know  how  poor  we  are.  Father  is  a  mechanic. 
Mechanics  never  amount  to  anything.  We  live  in 
four  rooms,  crowded  in  with  twenty  other  families. 
It  is  expected  that  the  children  of  such  people  will 
do  something  to  earn  money  as  soon  as  they  get  big 
enough.  What  can  /  do  ?  Go  into  a  shop  or  a  store, 
or  sew  or  scrub  or  learn  to  cook  ?  I  hate  all  of  those 
things  !  I  wont  do  any  of  them,  no  matter  if  I  starve 
to  death.  There  are  people  who  don't  feel  as  I  do 
about  such  matters.  As  for  me,  I  simply  won't. 
Now,  there  are  girls  who  are  highly  educated,  who 
have  pleasant  employments,  who  wear  good  clothes. 


54  YOUNG    MT88   GIDDY. 

who  go  to  the  theatres  and  ride  in  carriages.  Why 
cannot  I  be  one  of  those  girls  ?" 

The  pleading  voice  affected  him,  for  he  was  not 
inclined  to  smile  at  her  excessive  innocence. 

"  Have  you  ever  spoken  of  this  to  your  parents  ?" 
he  inquired. 

"Of  course  not  !"  The  girl's  dark  eyes  snapped. 
"  Father  talks  a  great  deal  about  the  '  dignity  of 
labor,'  and  Austin  drinks  in  everything  he  says  as  if 
it  was  inspired.  I  am  the  only  one  of  them  who 
wants  a  change.  What  kind  of  a  life  have  I  got  to 
live,  unless  I  get  out  of  their  circle  ?  Girls  in  my 
class  are  Nobodies.  When  they  are  older  they  marry 
Nobodies.  They  become  the  mothers  of  Nobodies  ; 
and  so  it  goes  on.  Mr.  Charles,"  she  continued, 
impressively,"  I  won't  endure  this  !  I  shall  be  Some- 
body, or  I  shall  throw  myself  into  the  East  River." 

The  affair  was  growing  serious  enough,  in  all  con- 
science. What  a  very  wicked  girl  she  was  !  He 
must  think  this  over  by  himself  before  he  could 
decide  what  to  say  to  her, 

"You  surprise  me  so  that  I  cannot  answer  you  to- 
night," was  his  reply,  after  a  moment  of  hesitation. 
"  You  have  a  father  and  mother  who  love  you  very 
dearly,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  hesitate  before  doing 
anything  to  cause  them  pain.  I  will  try  to  think  of 
someway  to  aid  you,  if  you  will  give  me  a  few  days  ; 
and,  in  the  meantime — " 

He  had  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  and  half-drawn 
out  his  purse,  when  she  stopped  him. 

"You  know  I  did  not  mean  that!  I  don't  want 
charity.  I  want  a  chance ,  the  same  as  others  have. 
You  can  get  it  for  me  if  you  will  !" 

The  girl  turned  abruptly  away  and  walked  off  !n 


"MARRIAGE  is  A 


the  direction  of  her  habitation,  leaving  Mr.  Scarlett 
still  more  shocked  and  astonished.  She  was  a  most 
remarkable  child  !  He  would  think  her  case  over 
to-morrow.  To-night  he  was  too  anxious  to  read  the 
book  her  father  had  put  into  his  hand. 

Though  ordinarily  one  of  the  most  regular  of 
sleepers  the  young  scion  of  wealth  did  not  close  his 
eyes  that  night.  He  read  every  line  of  the  wonder- 
ful story  that  since  that  day  has  revolutionized  the 
thoughts  and  quickened  the  consciences  of  millions. 
The  carpenter  was  right  when  he  said  it  would  alter 
all  bases  for  argument  afterward. 

Charles  Scarlett  was  not  certain  how  much  of  the 
author's  position  he  accepted,  as  he  sought  his  couch 
when  the  sun  was  rising.  But  he  knew  that  some- 
thing had  touched  his  mind  and  heart  in  a  way  they 
never  had  been  touched  before. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  MARRIAGE   IS   A    NUISANCE." 

Though  Douglass  Maybury  saw  a  great  deal  of 
the  Scarletts,  father  and  daughter,  during  the  latter 
part  of  his  stay  in  Europe,  they  did  not  interest  him 
half  as  much  as  some  other  things  with  which  he 
came  in  contact  there.  He  was  now  twenty-one, 
in  the  full  flush  of  youthful  health,  with  enough 
money  to  spend,  rather  good-looking,  and  with  no 
one  to  put  the  least  curb  on  his  actions.  It  is  no 
wonder  that  he  found  acquaintances  more  agreeable 


56  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

than  the  bonanza  Senator,  whose  talk  was  largely  of 
politics  and  stocks  ;  or  the  young  miss  of  seventeen, 
still  under  the  tutelage  of  her  music  and  language 
masters,  and  with  as  little  knowledge  of  Life  as  one 
of  the  finches  that  adorned  her  chamber. 

Mr.  Scarlett  happened  to  spend  considerable  time 
at  Paris,  when  Douglass  was  there,  and  also  at 
various  points  in  the  south  of  France  and  in  Italy} 
during  the  winter,  when  the  young  man  was  doing 
the  usual  places.  He  invited  him  to  his  table  at 
the  various  hotels,  and  the  invitations  were  accepted 
not  infrequently.  At  dinner  Miss  Flora  had  her 
seat  by  her  father,  and  listened  to  the  conversations 
that  took  place,  with  the  well-bred  silence  of  her 
age.  She  was  undoubtedly  a  sweet  girl,  trained  by 
her  careful  chaperone,  Madame  Saccard,  educated 
in  the  best  manner,  and  growing  fairer,  if  possible, 
every  day. 

But  Maybury,  in  his  own  words,  "  had  no  use  for 
her."  She  was  still  a  child,  and  he  was  fonder  of 
the  company  he  could  find  after  eleven  at  night,  fre- 
quenting the  cafes  and  ready  to  indulge  in  wine  sup- 
pers or  games  of  cards.  He  made  the  acquaintance 
of  the  fastest  set  of  women  wherever  he  went  as 
naturally  as  a  duck  goes  into  the  water,  and  long 
before  he  returned  to  the  United  States  he  was  blase 
as  a  man  of  fifty,  his  appetite  cloyed  by  the  sweet 
things  that  had  been  presented  to  his  pampered 
taste.  He  had,  indeed,  come  to  regard  existence  as 
a  bore,  and  had  at  times  serious  thoughts  of  dispos- 
ing of  it  as  a  disagreeable  and  monotonous  legacy. 

From  that  long  past  day  when  a  housemaid  at  his 
father's  had  surrendered  to  his  boyish  arts,  as  he 
then  believed,  (or  deliberately  "  lai<i  for  him,"  as  be 


"MAHBIAGE  is  A  NUISANOB."  5T 

afterwards  decided  to  be  the  case)  he  had  been  a 
favorite  of  the  god  Cupid.  A  more  serious  matter 
was  the  fondness  he  had  conceived  for  Bacchus,  who 
frequently  now  beguiled  him  into  inebriety.  Such 
things  cannot  be  concealed,  and  it  was  said  in  New 
York,  soon  after  his  return,  "  Young  Maybury  is 
drinking  too  much."  However,  violations  of  social 
rules  are  condoned  in  a  young  gentleman  of  "  blood  " 
and  fashion,  and  the  knowledge  that  he  was  a  trifle 
fast  did  not  prevent  scores  of  managing  mammas 
from  making  a  dead  set  at  him  in  the  interest  of  their 
daughters. 

He  soon  discovered  that  he  was  considered  a  great 
catch  by  many  families  who,  having  made  money, 
wished  to  ally  themselves  with  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  distinguished  families  of  the  State.  The  fact 
that  he  had  very  little  wealth  was  no  drawback  in 
the  estimation  of  these  people.  It  rather  enhanced 
his  value.  He  could  furnish  the  "family  "and  they 
the  cash.  Surely  it  was  a  bargain  that  is  consum- 
mated daily,  and  with  great  pleasure  and  profit  to 
both  sides. 

Mr.  Maybury,  in  spite  of  his  faults,  of  which  the 
reader  already  knows  the  chief,  was  not  a  bad  fellow. 
He  had  generous  streaks  in  him,  for  one  thing,  and 
had  he  been  as  rich  as  many  of  those  with  whom  he 
associated,  would  have  spent  his  money  as  freely  as 
water. 

Another  thing  marked  him.  He  was  in  the  habit 
of  paying  all  bills  he  contracted,  and  would  never 
make  a  tradesman  or  a  landlord  come  to  him  the 
second  time  for  what  was  due.  He  stuck  to  this 
rule  even  at  the  risk  of  appearing  a  little  out  of 
style. 


58  YOUMO    MISS   GIDDY. 

And  still  another  :  Though  his  mistresses  had 
been  numerous,  he  was  incapable  of  any  of  those 
cold-blooded  acts  of  villainy  toward  women  which 
every  man  of  the  world  knows  are  altogether  too 
common.  He  was  simply  a  product  of  his  environ- 
ment, mitigated  by  whatever  of  high  tone  he  had 
inherited  from  the  Governor  and  the  Judge.  He  ate 
and  drank  with  publicans  and  sinners  merely  be- 
cause the  brightest  laughter,  the  best  food  and  the 
daintiest  wines  were  to  be  found  in  that  company. 

Mr.  David  Bayley,  the  Architect,  had  lately  lit 
upon  a  commission  that  was  to  make  his  fortune. 
The  bonanza  Senator,  Augustus  Scarlett,  pleased 
with  something  of  Mr.  Bayley's  which  he  had  seen, 
had  given  him  carte  blanche  to  draw  the  plans  and 
superintend  the  erection  of  a  colossal  mansion  for 
him  at  the  corner  of  Fifth  avenue  and  — th  street. 
This  meant  not  only  a  large  percentage  on  the  cost  of 
a  building  that  was  to  be  expensive  beyond  anything 
yet  known  on  that  royal  road,  but  a  sure  position 
afterward  for  the  successful  architect. 

Mr.  Bayley  and  Mr.  Scarlett  soon  found  themselves 
well  mated.  The  plans  which  came  from  the  Archi- 
tect's office  delighted  the  millionaire  so  much  that  he 
began  to  consider  Mr.  Bayley  an  extraordinary  mor- 
tal. In  an  incredibly  short  time  these  men,  so  wide 
apart  in  wealth  and  social  standing,  were  extremely 
intimate.  The  Architect  came  to  enjoy  the  confidence 
of  his  employer  in  a  much  greater  degree  than  any 
other  person. 

Strange  as  this  may  seem,  the  case  is  not  without 
its  parallel,  which  the  reader  will  readily  recall.  It 
was  the  rich  widow  of  a  California  railroad  king  who 
married  the  architect  whose  plans  for  her  various 


**  MABRIAGE    18   A    NUISAJTOB."  59 

palatial  homes  pleased  her  so  well,  and  at  her  death 
left  the  lucky  fellow  all  her  fortune. 

Mr.  Bayley  was  a  man  of  great  shrewdness.  He 
learned  the  idiosyncracies  of  the  Senator  and  catered 
to  them  in  every  possible  way.  A  month  after  he 
became  personally  acquainted  with  him,  he  would  as 
soon  have  cut  out  his  tongue  as  to  discuss  that  gen- 
tleman's affairs  in  the  flippant  and  reckless  way  he 
had  used  with  Douglass  Maybury.  Even  at  that 
early  date  he  foresaw  the  position  that  he  was  ulti- 
mately to  occupy.  It  was  no  light  thing  to  be  in  the 
full  confidence  of  a  man  of  such  wealth  as  Senator 
Scarlett.  It  meant  prestige,  advancement,  every- 
thing desirable  to  David  Bayley,  hitherto  only  a 
young  man  of  fair  position. 

Exactly  how  the  Senator  and  his  architect  came  to 
bring  the  name  of  Miss  Flora  into  their  conversation 
it  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to  say  at  this  late  date. 
Mr.  Scarlett  may  have  mentioned  meeting  Mr.  May- 
bury  abroad,  and  Bayley  may  have  said  that  he  was 
well  acquainted  with  the  young  gentleman  and  be- 
longed to  a  club  with  him.  Certain  it  is  that  the 
Senator  told  his  now  close  friend  that  he  had  a  very 
high  opinion  of  the  Maybury  family,  and  that  if  his 
daughter  ever  married  he  hoped  it  might  be  with 
some  gentleman  of  that  description.  The  heads  of 
these  two  men  were  soon  together  on  this  proposi- 
tion. Mr.  Bayley  wholly  agreed  with  his  employer 
that  Mr.  Maybury  was  a  most  desirable  marriage 
possibility  and  that  a  union  of  the  young  couple — 
some  day  in  the  future — would  be  a  most  happy  and 
desirable  one  for  all  concerned.  Indeed,  it  is  not 
overstating  the  case  to  say  that  Douglass  was  in 
effect  a  part  of  the  finish  that  Mr.  Bayley  contracted 


60  TOTING   MT88   GIDDY. 

to  put  into  the  new  mansion  on  Fifth  avenue  when 
it  was  complete!. 

It  was  not  the  wish  of  Mr.  Scarlett  that  anything 
should  be  done  to  hasten  his  daughter's  marriage. 
She  was  now  barely  eighteen  and  had  never  given 
the  slightest  indication  that  her  thoughts  ran  in  that 
direction.  He  only  wished  to  see  a  friendship  grow- 
ing up  between  the  young  people  that  would  find 
its  fruition  at  the  proper  time.  He  learned  from  Mr. 
Bayley  that  Douglass  paid  little  attention  to  ladies 
of  his  own  social  rank,  and  he  believed  that  whatever 
alliances  he  might  make  with  those  on  another  scale 
were  likely  to  be  temporary.  He  knew  in  a  general 
way  that  the  young  man  drank  rather  more  than  was 
good  for  him,  but  in  this  he  did  not  differ  remarkably 
from  the  average  of  his  set. 

The  Senator  invited  Maybury  to  dinner  much 
oftener  than  the  invitations  were  accepted  ;  but  a 
reason  that  seemed  quite  sufficient  was  always  forth- 
coming. And  on  the  days  when  he  accepted  Doug- 
lass got  along  very  well  with  Miss  Flora,  though  the 
Senator  noticed  that  he  was  given  to  blushing  when 
his  eyes  met  hers  with  anything  like  directness. 

The  girl's  mind  was  so  exceedingly  innocent  that 
she  neither  noticed  this  fact  nor  gave  any  answering 
color.  That  Maybury  flushed  was  certainly  not  a 
bad  sign  under  such  'circumstances.  Mr.  Scarlett 
thought  he  could  guarantee  a  satisfactory  outcome 
of  the  matter,  and  he  was  correspondingly  contented, 

So  guardedly  was  this  siege  begun,  that  it  was 
some  time  before  the  object  of  it  had  his  suspicions 
aroused.  Mr.  Bayley  used  to  allude,  as  if  at  random, 
to  the  colossal  fortune  which  would  one  day  fall  to 
the  Senator's  daughter,  which  he  estimated  was  not 


"MARRIAGE  is  A  NUISANCE.*  61 

likely  to  be  short  of  ten  millions.  He  dilated,  at 
various  times,  on  her  beauty  and  grace,  declaring 
that  he  would  be  a  very  happy  man  who  should 
some  day  lead  her  to  the  altar.  Mr.  Maybury  listened 
with  only  a  languid  interest  to  a  number  of  these 
harangues,  until  it  dawned  upon  him  that  there  was 
something  peculiar  in  their  astonishing  frequency. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  old  fellow,"  he  said  one  day, 
while  dining  at  the  club,  when  the  Architect  made 
an  allusion  to  the  Scarletts  in  his  usual  vein.  "I 
don't  want  to  seem  impolite,  but  what  interest  do 
you  think  I  can  possibly  have  in  that  confounded 
family  ?" 

"  Why,  I  thought  you  were  on  very  good  terms," 
was  the  response.  "  You  and  the  Senator  seem 
extremely  friendly." 

Maybury  yawned. 

"  But  you're  rubbing  it  in,  you  know.  You  talfe 
of  them  every  time  we  get  together.  It's  all  right 
occasionally  to  get  on  to  the  subject,  but  it  loses 
its  attractions  after  awhile.  I've  no  objections  to 
Scarlett  once  or  twice  a  week,  but  you  insist  on  my 
having  him  every  meal.  And  it's  not  only  Scarlett, 
but  Miss  Scarlett,  Say,  Dave,  what  are  you  up  to?" 

Thus  challenged,  Mr.  Bayley  was  driven  into  mak- 
ing a  show  of  his  hand. 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  my  dear  Douglass,  I  have  been 
wondering  why  the  multitudinous  charms  of  Miss 
Flora  have  no  apparent  effect  on  a  young  man  in 
your  situation.  If  she  hadn't  a  penny  she  would  be 
a  prize  worth  winning  ;  but  with  her  setting  of  gold 
and  precious  stones  she  is  beyond  anything  in  New 
York.  You  are  going  to  marry  by'and-by — you've 
told  me  so  yourself.  What  better  can  you  hope  for 


63  YOUNQ   MISS  GIDDY. 

than   such   a   fortune   and    such   a   beauty   in   one 
aggregation  ?" 

Mr.  Maybury  took  out  a  box  of  cigarettes  that  a 
friend  had  sent  him  from  Mexico.  After  offering 
one  to  Mr.  Bayley  he  lit  another  and  for  some 
moments  puffed  lazily. 

"  I  half  suspected  that  was  your  game,"  he  said, 
finally.  "  Is  the  old  gentleman  in  it,  too  ?" 

"  It's  not  fair  to  speak  of  it  in  that  way,"  was  the 
reply,  delivered  in  an  injured  tone.  "  I'd  do  any- 
thing I  could  for  you,  but  in  this  case  my  interven- 
tion would  be  of  no  account.  All  I  can  say  is,  Mr. 
Scarlett  likes  you  better  than  any  other  young  man 
he  knows,  and  in  my  opinion  would  not  stand  in 
your  way  if  Miss  Flora  smiled  upon  your  advances." 

Mr.  Maybury  looked  as  if  there  was  an  element  of 
humor  in  the  whole  affair,  and  drew  a  few  draughts 
from  a  glass  that  stood  on  the  table  at  his  side. 

"  I've  got  lots  of  time  yet,"  said  he,  wiping  his 
lips.  "A  man  out  on  bail  doesn't  like  to  surrender 
till  the  court  day  arrives." 

The  Architect  took  what  advantage  he  could  of 
the  reply.  He  remarked  that  there  was,  of  course, 
no  need  for  haste  on  either  side.  Miss  Scarlett  was 
no  more  likely  to  think  of  an  immediate  marriage 
than  Mr.  Maybury. 

"  It's  worth  while  putting  in  a  foundation,  though," 
he  added. 

Maybury  laughed  again,  still  with  the  bored  look 
on  his  handsome  face. 

"Oh,  now  you're  talking  shop  !"  he  said. 

"Well,  it's  not  so  unlike,"  replied  the  Architect. 
"Look  at  that  house  I'm  putting  up  for  the  Senator. 
From  start  to  finish  it  will  take  three  years  to  build. 


"  MABBIAOB    18    A    WUISAJICK."  63 

It  ought  to  require  just  about  that  for  you  to  get  to 
the  point  of  wedding  Miss  Flora.  In  three  years  she 
will  be  twenty-one.  Allow  the  first  year  for  an 
understanding  to  grow  up,  the  second  for  an  an- 
nouncement of  the  engagement,  and  the  third  for 
the  actual  preparations.  Of  course,  a  year  cut  from 
the  total  would  not  spoil  things  any,  if  you  should 
conclude  that  it  was  advisable." 

The  younger  man  lit  a  cigarette  and  sipped  again 
from  the  tumbler. 

"You  architects,"  said  he,  "get  to  allowing  alto- 
gether too  much  time  for  preliminaries.  I  begin  to 
believe  Scarlett  has  this  very  thing  in  his  head.  I 
can't  go  there  without  hearing  something  dropped 
that  shows  it.  So  your  first  year — the  one  to  be 
devoted  to  getting  up  an  'understanding' — is  dis- 
posed of  to  begin  with.  Even  allowing  that  I  looked 
on  Miss  Flora  as  a  possible  end  to  my  bachelorhood, 
there  would  be  twelve  good  months  left  to  me,  by 
your  own  calculation.  It  is  said  that  an  hour's  sleep 
before  midnight  is  worth  two  afterward.  On  the 
same  basis,  a  year  of  single  life  ought  to  be  more 
interesting  than  five  of  wedlock." 

Mr.  Bayley  paid  the  customary  tribute  to  the  wit 
of  his  companion. 

"  Much  you  know  about  sleep  before  midnight," 
he  added,  "and  as  little,  very  naturally,  about  the 
married  state." 

"  I  know  marriage  is  a  nuisance,  even  if  I  haven't 
tried  it,"  was  the  answer.  "  The  concerted  contem- 
porary evidence  is  enough  to  show  that.  A  French- 
man once  told  me  it  was  more  agreeable  to  kiss  the 
wives  of  other  men,  than  to  keep  a  wife  for  other 
men  to  kiss.  It  must  be  a  trial  for  a  born  poacher 


64  YOUNG    MISS   QIDDT. 

to  find  himself  in  possession  of  a  game  preserve, 
which  he  must  watch  between  expeditions.  I  know 
men  whose  time  is  equally  divided  between  looking 
after  their  own  daughters  and  attempting  liberties 
with  other  people's.  No  wonder  their  hair  is  grow- 
ing gray  under  the  strain.  Then,  children  are  such 
an  unmitigated  curse  !  And  one  lays  himself  open 
to  such  inflictions  when  he  enters  the  married  state." 

"  More  than  when  he  keeps  a  mistress  ?"  asked 
Mr.  Bayley,  meaningly. 

"  Oh,  that's  ridiculous  !"  was  the  impatient  re- 
joiner. 

The  Architect  gazed  at  his  companion  in  silence 
for  a  little  while.  He  wanted  to  utter  his  wisest 
thoughts  now  this  matter  was  fairly  opened. 

"  There  is  no  need  of  haste,"  he  said,  finally.  "  I 
am  quite  intimate  at  the  Scarletts,  and  I  shall  know 
if  there  is  a  chance  of  another's  getting  a  foothold, 
so  that  I  can  keep  you  posted." 

"  Thanks,  awfully,"  drawled  Maybury,  with  mock 
politeness. 

"  There  was  the  Duke  of  Applehurst,"  proceeded 
the  Architect,  ignoring  the  irony.  "And  there  was 
the  Prince  of  Pisa.  Both  of  them  made  formal 
propositions  for  Miss  Flora's  hand,  not  to  mention  a 
score  of  others  of  less  exalted  rank.  In  fact,  the  pro- 
posals have  averaged  about  one  a  month.  Now,  as 
your  particular  friend,  I  admit  having  kept  my  eyes 
open  for  some  weeks  back,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  yourself,  no  one  has  had  the  least  encourage- 
ment." 

Maybury  threw  down  the  remains  of  his  cigarette. 

u  Don't  except  me,"  he  said.  "  I  haven't  had  any, 
either." 


"MASRIAGE   18  A   NUISANCE."  6ft 

An  incredulous  look  spread  over  the  face  of  the 

Architect. 

"  What  did  you  just  say  about  the  Senator's — " 

"  The  Senator  !     I  mean  the  young  lady." 

Mr.  Bayley  wondered  how  much  his  friend  was  in 
earnest. 

"  Do  you  expect  a  girl  like  her  is  going  to  throw 
herself  at  your  head  ?"  he  demanded.  "Would  you 
respect  her  the  more  if  she  did  ?  Miss  Flora  is  a 
girl  in  a  million.  She  is  the  most  self-contained 
person  of  her  age  I  ever  met.  She  looks  to  her 
father  to  advise  her  in  such  a  matter.  It  is  a  princi- 
ple with  him  never  to  issue  an  order  to  either  of  his 
children,  and  he  would  not  utter  a  word  of  dissent, 
I  am  sure — no,  not  even  if  she  selected  for  her  hus- 
band that  young  carpenter  in  whom  she  has  ap- 
peared so  interested  of  late." 

Mr.  Maybury  had  found  something  at  last  to  en- 
tertain him.  He  sat  upright  in  his  chair  and  asked 
for  further  particulars. 

"  About  the  carpenter  ?"  said  Mr.  Bayley.  "  I  was 
only  using  him  as  an  extreme  illustration." 

"  But  I  want  to  know  about  him,"  was  the  quick 
answer.  "  You  say  she  has  appeared  interested  ic 
him.  In  what  way  ?" 

The  Architect  hemmed  softly. 

"  Whv,  he  has  been  at  work  on  the  new  house  ; 
<md  whenever  Miss  Flora  has  been  there,  she  has 
spent  most  of  her  time  at  his  bench  watching  him  at 
his  carving.  The  reason  she  watches  him  instead  of 
the  others,  I  think,  is  because  he  seldom  looks  up  or 
speaks." 

"And    the   name  of    this   happily   distinguished 


66  YOtTNO   MISS    OIDDT. 

youth  ?"  asked  Maybury,  in  a  slightly  disturbed 
tone. 

"  I  believe  they  call  him  Austin  Strange." 

The  younger  man  turned  his  face  away,  under  the 
pretense  of  believing  that  some  one  was  entering  the 
door. 

"  Is  there  anything  noticeable  about  the  boy  ?"  he 
asked,  presently. 

"  No,"  said  Bayley.  "  He's  merely  a  good  work- 
man, who  tends  to  his  business  and  only  speaks 
when  addressed.  His  father  is  also  a  carpenter,  but 
the  lad  already  does  the  finer  work." 

Again  Maybury  turned  toward  the  door  ;  but 
there  was  no  one  entering  or  about  to  enter. 

"  I  think  I've  heard  of  that  carpenter,"  he  said, 
quietly.  "  Is  his  christened  name  Martin  ?" 

"  No  ;  Lyman." 

This  time  the  young  man  rose  and  walked  to  the 
end  of  the  room,  where  he  could  see  into  the  billiard 
hall. 

"  I  thought  I  heard  Parton  come  in,"  he  said,  in 
explanation.  "  I've  had  a  headache  mornings  lately, 
and  he  has  something  that  stops  it." 

"  I  could  prescribe  for  that,"  replied  the  Architect, 
jocosely. 

"  Yes,  but  your  remedies  are  too  drastic  ;  they 
would  include  going  to  bed  sober,  which  would  ruin 
my  constitution."  He  took  out  his  watch.  "  I  must 
leave  you  now,  my  dear  fellow,  as  I  have  an  import- 
ant engagement  at  five." 

Mr.  Bayley  inquired  pleasantly  if  it  was  one  of  the 
usual  kind. 

"  Oh,  dear,  no  !  It  is  a  matter  of  pure  business, 
worte  luck.  And  about  that  Scarlett  affair,  I'll 


•RE   WOULD   BE   A   LADY.  67 

think  of  it.  But  not  for  a  long  time,  a  very  long 
time,  will  I  give  up  my  freedom." 

"  There's  nobody  else  on  your  list,"  said  the  Archi- 
tect, interrogatively. 

"  You  may  rest  easy  on  that  score.  Perhaps,  if 
she  waits  long  enough,  in  fact  till  it's  either  marriage 
or  starvation,  I  may  come  to  it." 

The  Architect  pursed  up  his  mouth. 

"  You  can't  deny  she's  a  very  nice  girl,"  he  said. 

"  No,  indeed  !"  said  Maybury,  soberly.  "  She  is 
the  only  girl  I  ever  saw  that  I  would  marry,  in  any 
event." 

With  this  parting  assertion  Mr.  Bayley  was  forced 
to  be  content  for  the  time.  He  thought  on  the  whole 
he  had  made  some  progress,  and  he  reported  as 
much  of  the  conversation  as  he  thought  wise  to  Mr. 
Scarlett  that  evening. 

But  Maybury  was  thinking  of  pretty  Esther 
Strange,  and  wondering  if  two  years  had  height- 
ened her  beauty  or  brought  her  new  ideas  in  con- 
nection with  the  problems  of  life. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SHE  WOULD  BE  A  LADY. 

Charles  Scarlett  was  considerably  upset  by  the 
way  in  which  the  daughter  of  his  friend,  the  carpen- 
ter, had  appealed  to  him.  Could  he  have  satisfied 
her  by  taking  out  a  few  hundred  dollars  and  provid- 
ing for  her  improved  education,  he  would  have  done 
so,  and  relieved  himself  of  a  continual  annoyance  ; 


6$  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

for  she  met  him  at  all  sorts  of  corners,  and  asked 
him  daily  what  he  was  going  to  do  to  make  a  lady 
of  her,  and  when  he  was  going  to  begin.  Charles 
had  a  natural  fear  of  women,  and,  young  as  she  was, 
Esther  seemed  to  be  included  in  that  category.  The 
girl  insisted  that  he  must  on  no  account  inform  her 
father,  and,  above  all,  her  stepmother,  of  the  ideas 
which  she  held.  It  was  plain  that  she  looked  down 
on  all  of  her  family,  as  upon  people  who  were  not  of 
her  rank,  and  whose  opinion  was  not  of  the  least 
consequence.  Study  the  case  in  whatever  light  he 
could,  it  became  no  clearer. 

She  used  to  dog  his  steps,  when  from  very  terror 
of  meeting  her  he  ceased  to  call  at  her  father's,  and 
demand  his  reasons  for  delaying  so  long  in  granting 
the  simple  request  she  had  made  him.  She  had  no 
scheme  of  her  own,  she  left  that  to  him  with  a  con- 
temptuous wave  of  her  little  hand.  He  knew  more 
of  the  world  than  she — it  was  for  him  to  arrange 
particulars.  She  was  willing  to  take  the  station  of 
a  young  lady  whenever  he  was  ready  to  have  her. 
And  she  would  do  nothing  but  insist  on  that  point, 
every  time  she  could  get  a  conversation  with  him 

As  her  father  and  brother  both  worked  on  the  new 
mansion  of  the  Senator's,  she  made  that  a  favorite 
place  of  lying  in  wait  for  the  unhappy  young  gentle- 
man. One  day  Douglass  Maybury  happened  to  come 
along  just  as  Esther  was  leaving  Charles,  at  the 
corner  of  the  avenue.  The  girl  would  inevitably 
have  seen  him  had  she  turned  her  head,  but  she  was 
in  a  fit  of  temper  because  Mr.  Scarlett,  Jr.,  was  still 
"unreasonable,"  and  she  was  sailing  toward  her 
home,  looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  the  left. 
Douglass  recognized  her  instantly,  but  he  did  not 


BHB   WOULD   BE    A   LADY.  6f 

think  of  following  her.  Seeing  that  she  was  known 
to  Charles,  he  preferred  to  see  what  he  had  to  say 
about  her. 

"That  girl  acts  rather  queer,"  he  remarked,  gaz- 
ing after  the  retreating  figure.  "  She  looks  as  if 
you  had  done  her  some  kind  of  an  injury." 

"  She's  the  queerest  girl  I  ever  saw,"  replied 
Charles,  drawing  a  long  breath. 

Then  he  told  Douglass  all  about  her,  how  she  had 
proposed  to  him  to  remedy  the  ills  of  Fate,  and  had 
followed  him  up  about  it  until  existence  had  almost 
ceased  to  be  a  pleasure. 

"  But  that's  the  sort  of  thing  I  have  always  under- 
stood you  delighted  in,"  smiled  the  other.  "  You 
couldn't  find  a  better  chance  for  a  good  deed  than 
to  take  this  child  and  do  what  she  asks." 

Charley  looked  at  his  companion  helplessly. 

"But  how /"  he  exclaimed.  "  She's  got  a  father — 
that  carpenter  there,  at  the  bench — and  she  won't 
have  him  consulted  ;  she's  got  a  stepmother,  with 
whom  she  doesn't  get  along  any  too  well  ;  and  a 
brother  as  little  like  her  as  oil  is  like  water,  the 
young  fellow  you  see  in  the  next  room,  carving  that 
moulding." 

"  Which  makes  it  all  the  easier,"  insisted  May- 
bury.  "They  would  probably  give  her  up  to  you 
without  a  word  of  reluctance.  You  really  should 
try  your  hand  on  her,  my  dear  fellow." 

This  did  not  make  Mr.  Scarlett  any  better  satis- 
fied in  relation  to  his  duty,  and  the  only  thing  he 
did  about  Miss  Strange  for  the  next  month  was  to 
be  very  careful  not  to  let  her  see  him.  Hiding  in 
the  shadows  of  an  adjacent  doorway,  Esther's  eyes 
met  one  day  a  sight  that  pleased  her  quite  as  well. 


fO  rouvo  MISS  OIDDY. 

She  saw  the  face  of  Mr.  Maybury  entering  the  Scar- 
lett  building,  and  presently  emerging  therefrom. 
But, — bad  luck  was  in  it  ! — she  could  not  go  up  and 
speak  to  him,  for  he  was  in  the  company  of  another 
gentleman,  Mr.  Bayley,  the  Architect,  whose  figure 
she  knew  by  sight.  However,  it  was  something  to 
know  that  this  friend  was  again  in  the  city,  for  she 
would  be  sure  to  get  news  of  him  at  his  former 
home.  Before  the  next  evening  she  had  visited 
those  lodgings  and  ascertained  to  her  joy  that  Mr. 
Maybury  had  resumed  the  occupancy  of  his  old 
chambers. 

A  little  note,  written  in  a  childish  hand,  which 
showed  a  total  absence  of  cultivation,  came  on  the 
following  morning  to  inform  Mr.  Maybury  that,  like 
the  Indians  of  America,  he  had  "  been  discovered." 
It  announced  that  he  had  been  seen  in  Mr.  Bayley's 
company,  which  prevented  her  from  speaking  to  him 
at  the  time,  as  she  very  much  wanted  to  do.  The 
note  was  signed  "  E.  S.,"  and  bore  a  postscript  set- 
ting as  the  time  when  she  would  call  five  o'clock 
that  very  afternoon. 

"  Preposterous  !"  the  young  man  exclaimed  for  the 
twentieth  time,  as  he  laid  down  the  letter,  after 
reading  and  re-reading  it.  "  There  is  but  one  way 
that  a  poor  girl  can  get  ease  and  luxury,  and  it  is 
evident  that  thought  never  entered  her  pretty  head. 
What  a  ridiculous  life  this  is,  anyway  !" 

All  day  he  was  preoccupied  and  his  friends  asked 
him  what  was  the  matter.  He  could  think  of  noth- 
ing but  the  little  visitor  who  was  coming  in  the  early 
evening  to  propound  a  question  that  nobody  in  the 
world  could  answer. 

When  at   last   he  came  into  the  parlor.  H'here  his 


BHfi    WOULD    BE    A    LADT.  71 

valet  told  him  she  was  waiting,  he  found  the  old, 
business-like  look  on  her  face.  She  gave  him  her 
hand,  rising  to  do  so,  and  then  resumed  her  seat. 
Had  she  come  merely  to  ask  him  to  write  his  name 
in  her  album,  she  could  not  have  acted  much  differ- 
ently. 

She  was  older,  though.  Yes,  a  good  deal  older. 
Less  than  three  years  had  passed,  but  she  looked  a 
good  deal  taller  and  rounder.  And  she  was  prettier, 
too.  She  was  much  better  worth  his  attention  from 
a  physical  standpoint  than  on  that  morning  when  he 
accosted  her  on  the  sidewalk,  near  Fourth  avenue. 

"  Well,  young  Miss  Giddy,"  he  said,  devouring  her 
with  his  handsome  eyes.  "  What  is  it  this  time  ?" 

Esther's  face  took  on  a  look  of  disappointment. 

"You  haven't  forgotten  all  I  said  before;  and  you 
must  have  read  my  letter." 

"  Every  word." 

"  Well,  then,  you  know  all  about  it." 

He  bowed  pleasantly. 

"  In  brief,"  said  he, "  you  are  still  tired  of  being  the 
daughter  of  a  carpenter  and  want  to  be  a  lady." 

Esther  relaxed  her  features  a  little  as  she  indicated 
that  he  had  correctly  diagnosed  the  situation. 

"  And  the  question,  still  open  for  debate,"  added 
Maybury,  slowly,  "is — how  ?" 

Again  Esther  nodded  her  agreement  with  his 
statement. 

"  Which,"  continued  Douglass,  "  is  as  much  as  ever 
a  rather  difficult  problem  to  solve." 

The  girl  uttered  an  impatient  sound,  which  she 
evidently  would  have  preferred  to  restrain. 

"Now,"  said  Mr.  Maybury,  "the  great  requisite 
in  being  a  lady  is  to  have  plenty  of  money.  With 


72  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

that  you  will  readily  agree.  How  are  we  to  find  a 
supply  of  cash  to  fit  a  case  like  this  ?  If  we  can  get 
over  that  difficulty,  we  shall  make  a  substantial  start 
on  our  road." 

The  girl  choked  down  her  indignation,  which  this 
suggestion  called  forth. 

"  I  have  talked  a  good  deal  to  young  Mr.  Scarlett,** 
she  said.  "  His  father  is  so  rich  that  people  say  he 
can't  even  count  his  money.  I  don't  need  as  much 
as  he's  got — only  a  very  little  part  of  it — but  Mr. 
Charles  won't  say  a  word  to  him  for  me,  and  the 
only  answer  I  get  is  a  long  breath  and  a  casting 
down  of  the  eyes." 

Mr.  Maybury  looked  thoughtful  at  this  statement. 

"  Did  you  ever  think,"  he  asked,  "  that  there  might 
be  something  disagreeable  in  connection  with  this 
matter — that  some  of  the  money  might  have  been  got 
in  a  way  Mr.  Charles  did  not  like  to  talk  about  ?" 

Esther  seemed  unable  to  fully  appreciate  this 
point. 

"  I  never  thought  there  could  be  anything  disagree- 
able in  the  getting  of  money,"  she  replied,  with 
naivette\ 

This  brought  a  very  broad  smile  to  the  face  of  her 
companion. 

"That's  not  bad!"  he  cried.  "Gad!  you're 
nearly  right,  too  !  But  the  fact  is,  my  little  girl, 
there  are  ways  of  getting  rich  which  the  people  who 
make  use  of  do  not  discuss  much  before  others. 
And  really,  the  very  nicest  thing,  the  more  one 
thinks  of  it,  is  to  inherit  your  money.  Then  you  are 
not  compelled  to  go  too  deep  into  the  merits  of  your 
ancestors'  transactions." 


SHB  WOULD  BB  A  LADY.  73 

These  expressions  puzzled  the  girl  a  little,  but  she 
gained  a  general  idea  of  Mr.  Maybury's  meaning. 

"  Here  is  something  I  have  thought  of,"  she  said. 
"There  must  be  people  who  have  a  great  deal  of 
money,  and  no  children  of  their  own.  If  some  of 
them  knew  of  me — perhaps  if  they  could  hear  how 
much  I  would  like  to  be  rich — they  would  leave  me 
their  property  when  they  die." 

The  young  man  ruminated  for  some  seconds  over 
this  proposition. 

"  I  wish  /  had  enough  to  make  it  an  object,"  he 
answered,  presently.  "  I  would  write  a  will  leaving 
it  all  to  you,  with  the  greatest  pleasure  in  the  world. 
And  I  wouldn't  keep  you  waiting  long  for  it,  either," 
he  added,  in  a  lower  tone.  "  To  tell  the  truth,  I  am 
about  as  sick  of  this  life  as  a  man  can  be  and  en- 
dure it." 

The  girl  observed  him  wonderingly. 

"  You  tired  of  life  !"  she  repeated,  with  a  rising 
inflection.  "  Tired  of  life  !  With  such  a  house  as 
this  to  live  in  !  With  plenty  of  good  clothes,  ser- 
vants, everything  !" 

It  was  his  mood  to  confide  in  this  child  and  he 
reiterated  his  confession. 

"  Tired  of  it  as  I  can  be  !"  he  said.  "  I  eat,  to  be 
«ure  ;  I  drink,  without  doubt ;  I  sleep,  of  a  certainty  ; 
and  when  I  have  eaten  and  drunk  and  slept,  of  what 
use  is  it  all  ?  Tell  me  that,  wise  little  woman." 

She  clasped  her  hands  behind  her  head  and  leaned 
back  in  the  chair  she  occupied. 

"  It  would  be  enough  for  me,"  said  she,  "  to  «at  as 
you  do,  and  to  sleep  where  you  can,  and  to  ride  in 
a  carriage  like  you,  and  to  have  always — never 
missing — money  in  my  pocket.  Oh,  I  have  thought 


74  YOTJMJ 

of  it  a  very  great  deal  !  It  would  be  so  different 
from  living  in  a  boxed-up  flat,  with  such  dresses  as 
this,  and  with  never  a  penny  that  had  not  been 
spoken  for  by  the  baker  or  th«  landlord.  It  would 
make  me  very  happy  !  And  the  time  will  come 
when  I  shall  have  it,  yes,  the  time  must  come  ;  I  will 
find  a  way  to  bring  it  about." 

The  young  face  was  so  lighted  up  with  the  fervor 
of  her  thoughts  that  it  was  for  the  moment  absolutely 
beautiful,  and  Douglass  Maybury  gazed  on  it  with  a 
feeling  akin  to  awe. 

"  How  much  better  other's  circumstances  appear 
always  than  our  own,"  he  replied.  "  I  was  watching 
your  brother,  yesterday,  at  his  work,  with  feelings 
of  positive  envy.  There,  I  said,  is  a  young  man, 
content  with  his  labor,  getting  all  of  life  that  he 
expects  and  desires.  He  has  a  place  of  usefulness  ; 
he  is  doing  something  to  help  along  the  work  of  the 
world,  while  I  am  doing  nothing." 

The  girl  interrupted  him  with  a  warm  expression. 

"Oil!  that  must  be  very  pleasant — doing  noth- 
ing !  It  is  exactly  what  I  long  for  ;  a  life  in  which 
there  is  nothing  to  do,  nothing  whatever  !" 

"  And  you  think  that  would  content  you  ?" 

"  I  am  sure  of  it  !" 

For  the  first  time  it  struck  Douglass  Maybury 
that  he  might  do  something  for  this  child.  Her 
ideas  of  the  grandeur  of  wealth  were  not  very 
exalted,  probably.  He  could  assist  her  to  remove 
from  the  condition  into  which  she  had  been  born 
without  infringing  very  greatly  on  the  income 
which  he  had  planned  to  exhaust  in  the  next  three 
or  four  years.  It  would  be  a  great  thing  to  make 
one  human  being  perfectly  happy.  There  did  not 


•KB  "WOOL!)   BJC    A    UJMT.  75 

uccur  to  him  at  first  any  feasible  plan  to  accomplish 
his  idea,  but  the  outline  of  the  possibility  came  into 
his  mind. 

"  You  spoke  of  some  one  who  had  no  children 
and  who  might  leave  you  property,"  he  said,  in  a 
guarded  way.  "  If  I  should  hear  of  such  a  man,  how 
much  do  you  think  you  would  need?" 

With  the  directness  of  absolute  trust  Esther  be- 
gan a  mental  computation.  In  the  midst  of  it  she 
stopped  for  a  question. 

"Do  you  mean  right  out,  or  by  the  year  ?" 

"  Well,  let  us  say  by  the  year." 

After  a  few  moments  of  study  she  was  compelled 
to  give  up  naming  an  exact  figure. 

"You  can  tell  as  well  as  I,"  she  said,  lamely.  "I 
should  want  enough  for  a  nice  set  of  rooms — like 
these — and  plenty  of  good  clothes,  and  two  or  three 
servants.  Yes,  and  a  carriage,  and — and — money  to 
fill  my  pocket-book  whenever  it  got  empty." 

"  A  very  good  list,"  he  smiled.  "  But  haven't  you 
forgotten  a  most  important  circumstance  ?  You  are 
rather  young  to  set  up  an  establishment  yet. 
Wouldn't  you  think  it  wise  to  go  for  a  year  or  two 
to  some  college  where  you  could  finish  your  educa- 
tion. A  lady  without  a  good  education  is  rather 
out  of  place,  in  these  days." 

Esther  assented,  without  enthusiasm. 

"If  it  was  necessary,  I  would  go  to  school,"  she 
said,  "  and  get  my  house  afterward.  But  I  could 
have  a  carriage  to  ride  in,  couldn't  I,  while  I  was 
getting  educated  ?" 

"I  should  think,  during  that  period,"  he  replied, 
gravely,  "that  public  cabs  might  be  made  to  an- 
swer." 


76  TOUWG    M1S8    GIDDT. 

The  girl  thought  this  over,  recalling  the  appear- 
ance of  the  cabs  she  had  seen,  and  then  responded 
that  an  open  cab,  for  summer  use,  and  a  closed  one 
for  winter,  would  be  acceptable. 

"Supposing  I  am  able  to  arrange  these  things," 
said  Maybury,  slowly,  "how  are  you  going  to  fix  it 
with  your  father  ?" 

"  I  should  just  tell  him  I  was  goingV'  was  the  calm 
reply. 

"  Do  you  think  he  would  raise  no  objection  r" 

"  If  he  did,  I  should  go  without  his  consent.  He 
can  do  nothing  for  me.  If  I  got  a  chance  to  help 
myself  I  should  be  very  silly  to  let  him  stand  in  my 
way." 

What  a  very  odd  girl  she  was  ! 

"  Well,"  said  Douglass,  meditatively,  "  I  will  look 
about  and  see  if  anything  can  be  done  for  you.  If  I 
succeed,  and  you  get  sent  to  a  nice  school  for  young 
ladies,  you  will  have  to  study  hard.  And  when  you 
are  fully  established  and  get  a  little  older,  perhaps  I 
can  find  a  husband  for  you." 

He  thought  this  amusing  and  supposed  she  would 
respond  to  the  smile  with  which  he  made  it,  but  she 
took  it  with  complete  seriousness. 

"You  are  very  kind,"  she  said. 

"  You  would  be  willing  to  be  married  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  should  want  to  !" 

This  reply  came  very  near  taking  his  breath  away. 

"I  wish  I  liked  marriage  as  well  as  that,"  said  he, 
with  a  grimace,  "  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  go 
though  in  a  few  years  and  it  gives  me  a  pain  every 
time  I  think  about  it.  You  see,  I  am  not  so  rich  as 
you  take  me  to  be,  and  I  must  marry  some  girl  who 
has  a  great  deal  of  money." 


SBK   WOULD   BE   A   LADY.  77 

Then  Esther,  grateful  for  the  interest  he  had 
shown  in  her,  came  to  his  rescue. 

"/would  marry  you,  if  I  got  money  enough,"  she 
said,  soberly. 

He  started  to  his  feet. 

"  Would  you  !  I'm  afraid  I  shall  need  more  than 
you  will  have  to  offer." 

After  a  few  minutes  more,  Esther  looked  at  the 
clock  and  said  she  must  go  home,  or  her  absence 
would  attract  notice.  Maybury  promised  to  see 
what  he  could  do  and  to  let  her  know  as  early  as 
possible.  Then,  with  the  simplest  of  "  Good-by's," 
she  took  her  departure. 

How  refreshingly  naive  she  was  !  What  a  pity 
she  should  be  doomed  to  seclusion  in  the  box-like 
flat  where  the  carpenter's  family  lived  !  Could\it  do 
anything  for  her?  These  were  the  thoughts  that 
ran  through  Maybury's  mind  during  the  next  two 
hours. 

He  could  do  something,  if  he  liked.  The  girl's  idea 
of  wealth  was  so  simple,  it  would  take  but  little  to 
satisfy  her  wants.  A  boarding-school  in  the  country, 
what  clothes  she  would  need,  carte  blanche  at  a  cab- 
stand and  her  pin-money,  would  hardly  exceed  his 
cigar  and  liquor  bill.  It  could  all  be  arranged 
through  a  third  party,  pretending  to  represent  some 
benevolent  lady  or  gentleman,  who  had  heard  of  the 
family  and  wished  to  do  something  for  Esther. 
Douglass  wished  he  had  the  right  party  to  consult 
with,  but  he  bad  only  one  friend  in  whom  he  con- 
fided, and  that  was  David  Bayley.  He  could  not  tell 
this  to  the  Architect,  with  whom  he  had  talked  of 
that  more  serious  matter — a  possible  marriage  with 
Miss  Flora  Scarlett. 


78  Yotnra  MISS  «IDDT. 

Then  there  was  Dr.  Parton.  Douglass  liked  Par. 
ton  and  would  have  told  him  of  many  things,  but 
not  this  one.  It  was  a  peculiar  idea,  that  Parton 
might  not  take  in  the  right  spirit.  No,  if  he  did  it 
at  all,  it  must  be  through  the  mediumship  of  a  law- 
yer. 

And  that  is  just  what  he  did  do;  he  went  to  see 
Mr.  Blackstone  Coke,  who  did  not  make  half  as  much 
fuss  about  it  as  Maybury  imagined  he  would.  And 
before  a  fortnight  elapsed  Esther  Strange  was  taken 
into  the  little  room  that  her  people  called  a  parlor, 
and  set  face  to  face  with  a  gray-haired  man  in  gold- 
rimmed  spectacles,  who  had  come  with  a  generous 
and  noble  offer  from  a  generous  and  noble  personage, 
whose  name  was  not  to  be  disclosed  at  present. 

There  was  little  hesitation  on  the  part  of  Lyman 
Strange  in  accepting  this  proposition.  He  had  long 
wondered  what  would  become  of  his  peculiar  daugh- 
ter, who  hated  the  commonest  labor  about  the  house, 
and  who  said,  with  something  not  distantly  resem- 
bling temper,  that  she  never,  never,  NEVER  would  go 
out  to  work  in  any  shop  or  factory.  Austin,  when 
he  heard  of  it,  tossed  his  head  in  a  way  that  might 
mean  almost  anything  except  that  he  cared  one  way 
or  the  other.  It  was  Mrs.  Strange,  the  stepmother, 
accustomed  to  the  ordinary  things  of  life,  and  fear- 
ful of  all  that  was  out  of  the  range  of  her  limited 
experience,  who  cried  when  Esther  said  she  would 
be  ready  at  the  end  of  thft  week  to  go  with  the 
gentleman. 

And,  when  the  time  came,  Esther  went  with  the 
gold-bowed  glasses  and  with  the  man  who  wore 
them.  Charles  Scarlett  had  been  consulted,  and  had 
looked  up  the  lawyer,  and  found  that  he  belonged 


FIFTEEN    MILLION    DOLLAR*.  79 

to  a  great  firm  in  the  city,  whose  reputation  was 
very  high  indeed. 

"Your  fortune  has  come  to  you  sooner  than  you 
expected,"  said  Charles,  pleasantly  to  Esther. 

"  And  you  did  not  think  it  would  ever  come  at  all  !" 
she  responded,  half-spitefully. 

She  went  to  see  Mr.  Maybury  and  told  him  of  her 
good  luck,  but  he  didn't  act  much  interested.  She 
said  she  would  write  to  him  every  day,  but  he 
responded,  with  an  expression  of  comic  fear,  that 
she  must  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  Unless  something 
extraordinary  furnished  a  reason  she  must  only  write 
once  a  quarter. 

"  The  best  thing  is  to  have  as  little  as  possible  to 
do  with  her,"  he  said,  convincingly,  to  himself,  as 
from  a  place  behind  the  shutters  he  watched  her 
leave  the  house. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

FIFTEEN   MILLION    DOLLARS. 

The  palatial  building  was  at  last  said,  by  Mr.  Bay- 
ley,  to  be  "  approaching  completion."  According  to 
the  same  unimpeachable  authority  it  had  been  "ap- 
proaching completion  "  for  the  past  year  and  a  half, 
so  there  was  no  undue  elation  on  the  part  of  the 
owner  and  prospective  occupier  of  the  edifice.  Such 
a  residence  could  not  be  built  in  a  day,  any  more 
than  the  city  of  Rome.  It  was  no  common  affair,  to 


80  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDT. 

be  run  up  in  a  single  season.  On  the  finest  avenue 
in  the  first  city  of  the  land,  it  was  destined  to  sur- 
pass all  of  its  neighbors,  and  leave  a  liberal  distance 
between  itself  and  any  likely  to  come  after. 

That  meant  a  scouring  of  half  the  world  for 
materials,  a  securing  of  the  best  workmen  in  every 
dtpartment,  and  above  all  no  sign  of  haste  any- 
where. 

It  required  ten  months  to  bring  the  building  to 
the  height  of  the  first  floor,  to  the  amazement  of  the 
neighborhood,  which  was  not  prepared  for  the  elab- 
oration extended  to  those  parts  of  the  work  that 
were  soon  to  be  hidden  from  sight.  Then  the  super- 
structure rose  slowly,  that  the  fine  cut  stone  might 
have  an  opportunity  to  settle  the  fraction  of  an  inch 
that  it  needed,  instead  of  taking  that  liberty  when  it 
could  drag  with  it  the  wood  and  plaster  of  the 
interior.  And  when  the  edifice  was  to  the  inex- 
perienced eye  of  the  passer  nearly  done,  there  were 
eighteen  months  still  to  wait  before  the  furnishers 
could  be  allowed  to  enter  and  garb  this  naked 
creature.  It  was  not  finished  yet,  by  any  means.  It 
was  only  "approaching  completion." 

Charles  Scarlett  came  to  see  it  often.  The  very 
grandeur  of  this  building,  which  had  pleased  the 
millionaire's  son  greatly  as  he  looked  over  the  plans 
with  his  father,  distressed  him  as  it  came  into  col- 
lision with  the  new  ideas  that  filled  his  mind.  Had 
any  single  family  a  right  to  arrogate  to  themselves 
all  that  treasure  of  stone  and  wood  and  metal  I 
Should  not  such  an  edifice  be  devoted  to  the  general 
welfare  instead  of  the  selfish  interests  of  three  per- 
sona ?  ~rte  matter  preyed  upon  him,  and  one  day, 
frhen  he  was  in  the  new  house,  with  his  father  and 


FIFTBJW  MILLION   DOLLAKS.  81 

sister,  he  mustered  courage  to  say  what  he  had  kept 
to  himself  so  long. 

"  Well,  Charles,  have  you  any  suggestions  or  criti- 
cisms to  make  ?"  asked  the  Senator,  gayly,  as  he 
took  his  son  by  the  arm  and  walked  to  the  street  end 
of  the  unfinished  drawing-room. 

"  Not  about  the  beauty  of  the  design  or  the  excel- 
lence of  the  work,  father,"  responded  Charles,  with 
a  great  effort.  "  But  it  seems  to  me  sometimes  that 
all  this  magnificence  should  be  devoted  to  a  wider 
use  than  that  of  one  little  group  of  people." 

The  Senator  laughed. 

"  There  is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  serve  for 
three  groups,"  he  answered.  "  You  and  May  will 
get  married  one  of  these  days  ;  and  then,  with  your 
wife  and  May's  husband,  and  the  babies  that  will 
follow,  and  their  nurses,  the  place  will  come  nearer, 
I  trust,  to  your  conception  of  what  it  is  fit  for." 

The  son  did  not  join  in  the  humor,  nor  did  his 
face  relax  its  earnest  expression. 

"  It  isn't  that,"  he  answered,  respectfully.  "  It 
would  be,  even  then,  a  monument  to  our  individual 
selfishness.  Oh,  father,"  he  burst  out,  in  a  despair- 
ing tone,  "  there  is  so  much  that  I  want  to  say  to 
you,  and  the  subject  is  so  deep,  that  I  feel  unequal 
to  it  !  There  is  a  book  which,  if  you  would  only 
read — the  name — " 

"Is  'Looking  Backward  ! '"  interrupted  the  Sen- 
ator, quietly. 

Charles  stared  at  his  father  with  the  utmost  aston- 
ishment. 

"  You  have  not  read  it  !"  he  gasped. 

"  Oli,  yes,  I  have,"  smiled  the  Senator.  "  I  read 
everything  that  attracts  the  attention  of  thinkers.  I 


82  YOON0   MISS   <HDDY. 

will  admit,  also,  that  I  consider  it  one  of  the  ablest 
expositions  of  the  Socialistic  theory,  and  add  that  I 
differ  from  the  author  in  but  one  important  particu- 
lar." 

Charles  looked  the  inquiry  he  did  not  put  into 
words,  and  the  father  continued,  after  a  slight  pause — 

"That  of  Expediency." 

For  a  few  seconds  the  millionaire  waited  in  the 
apparent  expectation  that  his  son  would  have  a 
reply  ready,  but  Charles  did  not  speak.  He  thought 
that  perhaps  this  very  wise  man  might  after  all  be 
able  to  overthrow  the  doctrines  which  had  impressed 
him  so  deeply. 

"  This  Socialistic  wave,  that  ebbs  and  flows  like 
those  of  the  tide,"  continued  the  other,  "  has  given 
great  apprehension  to  many  people  of  comfortable 
fortunes,  but  it  gives  none  to  me.  Whenever  the 
people,  spoken  of  in  the  aggregate,  wish  a  decided 
change  in  the  economic  conditions  of  government, 
they  have  the  means  within  their  grasp  to  bring  it 
about.  Up  to  date  they  have  shown  only  sporadic 
movements  in  this  direction,  and  even  these  have 
been  confined  to  a  very  small  fraction  of  the  per- 
sons most  deeply  interested.  This  man  Bellamy  is 
the  least  objectionable  to  me  of  the  whole  let.  He 
at  least  proposes  to  give  us  a  shelter,  after  taking 
the  ground  from  under  our  feet  and  the  roof  from 
over  our  heads." 

Charles  Scarlett  felt  more  than  ever  how  little 
fitted  he  was  to  cope  with  the  experience  and  wisdom 
of  his  father.  But  he  did  not  expect  to  do  much 
more  than  get  an  opening  at  this  time  for  a  future 
discussion  ;  and  he  was  pleased  to  find  that  the 
kindness  of  manner  and  tene,  which  ht  had  never 


MILLIOBT   DOLLARS.  83 

Known  to  vary,  continued  in  the  presence  of  a  subject 
he  had  feared  would  be  extraordinarily  distasteful. 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  speak  so  kindly,  father," 
he  replied.  "You  have  always  given  me  such  full 
liberty,  that  I  dread  doing  anything  to  offend  you. 
I  want  you  to  know,  however,  that  I  am  much 
impressed  by  Mr.  Bellamy's  theories,  and  by  the 
gentleman  himself.  For  I  have  been  to  Boston  on 
purpose  to  meet  him,  and  have  returned  more  con- 
vinced than  before  that  he  is  in  the  right." 

The  Senator  laughed  again,  this  time  with  more 
heartiness  than  before. 

"  It  is  rather  late,  my  boy,"  said  he,  "  for  you  and 
me  to  discuss  the  question  you  seem  determined, 
in  your  supreme  conscientiousness,  to  raise.  I  have 
but  one  rule  for  you  and  your  sister.  That  rule  is 
condensed  into  the  brief  sentence,  '  Do  as  you 
please.'  It  is  short  and  comprehensive,  is  it  not  ?  If 
you  come  to  me  for  advice,  I  shall  try  and  give  it, 
to  the  best  of  my  ability  ;  otherwise,  you  must  be 
your  own  guide  in  all  things." 

The  sober  face  of  the  young  man  grew  yet  more 
earnest  as  he  listened. 

"  I  am  sure  I  want  but  one  thing — to  do  what  is 
Right,"  he  said. 

"  Pardon  me  for  suggesting  a  better  guide," 
replied  the  Senator.  "  You  should  do  what  is  most 
Expedient." 

Charles  looked  into  his  father's  face  and  asked, 
"  Do  you  think  so  ?"  in  a  hushed  tone. 

"I  am  sure  of  it.  To  come  to  the  matter  that  is 
in  your  mind,  it  might  be  right  for  me  to  use  the 
whole  of  my  fortune  to  establish  homes  and  hospi- 


M  TOUNQ   MISS   GIDDY. 

tals  for  the  poor.  That  it  would  be  expedient  I  very 
much  question." 

"  Still,  you  have  allowed  me  to  spend  as  much  as 
I  pleased  in  that  direction." 

"  Not  exactly.  I  have  made  you  an  allowance  of 
$300  a  week.  To  that  extent  you  are  at  liberty  to 
do  what  you  like  •,  but  it  is  a  very  small  part  of  my 
income." 

Charles  looked  at  his  sister,  who  was  watching 
young  Austin  Strange  at  the  other  end  of  the  room, 
engaged  in  work  upon  a  piece  of  dado.  Austin 
seemed  intent  on  his  occupation  and  did  not  look 
up  at  the  girl  in  replying  to  the  questions  which 
she  occasionally  put  to  him.  Flora  had  known  the 
carpenter's  son  for  some  months,  having  been 
introduced  to  him  by  her  brother,  and  Charles  was 
much  pleased  to  see  the  total  absence  of  any  line  of 
social  distinction  in  his  sister's  manner. 

There  was  never  anything  aristocratic  in  the 
bearing  of  this  girl,  though  she  had  a  quiet  dignity 
that  never  left  her  and  that  made  her  appear  older 
than  she  was.  The  servants  in  her  father's  employ 
fairly  idolized  her.  Every  workman  on  the  big 
building  where  she  expected  some  day  to  reside, 
grew  brighter  of  face  as  she  came  within  the  range 
of  his  vision. 

Austin  was  now  twenty.  He  was  of  athletic 
build,  straight  and  well-made,  with  brawny  arms, 
on  which  the  sleeves  were  rolled  up  as  he  worked. 
The  presence  of  this  girl,  so  far  above  him,  as  it 
must  seem  even  to  a  disciple  of  Modern  Social- 
ism, made  him  more  silent  than  usual.  This  was 
all  very  natural.  Miss  Scarlett  had  fluttered  the 
nerves  of  her  equals  before  now.  and  made  them 


FIFTEEN   MILLION   DOLLARS.  85 

forget  the  sentences  they  had  meant  to  utter 
What  wonder  that  the  son  of  a  carpenter  cast  down 
his  eyes  and  silenced  his  tongue  in  her  presence  ? 

"  You  were  very  poor  once,  were  you  not  ?"  asked 
Charles  of  his  father,  dreamily. 

"  Poorer  than  you  can  imagine,"  was  the  straight- 
forward answer. 

"  And  how  did  you  become  so  rich  ?" 

"  By  taking  advantage  of  my  Opportunities.  It  is 
easy  enough,  in  this  country.  There  is  just  so  much 
wealth  floating  about.  The  man  who  devotes  him- 
self to  its  acquisition  can  get  it.  Many  who  spend 
their  time  grumbling  over  their  lot  could  do  as  well, 
if  they  tried." 

Charles  was  astonished  at  this  statement,  which 
seemed  incredible,  or  would  have,  had  it  come  from 
any  other  source. 

"  How  much  money  do  you  think  you  have, 
father?"  he  asked,  bluntly. 

"  Fifteen  or  twenty  millions,  counting  everything 
at  its  market  value.  Whatever  there  is  to-day,  it 
will  be  larger  to-morrow  and  still  larger  the  next 
day.  Nobody  can  stop  its  growth.  Two  years  ago 
some  people  thought  I  was  a  heavy  loser  by  the 
labor  troubles  that  spread  over  the  country.  For 
four  months  trains  ran  with  difficulty  on  my  roads. 
For  a  longer  period  hardly  a  ton  of  ore  was  taken 
from  my  mines.  The  labor  leaders  combined  to 
crush  me,  and  with  what  result  ?  They  crushed 
themselves.  True,  the  stock  on  the  X.  &  Q.  road 
sunk  thirty  dollars  a  share  ;  but  I  bought  a  hundred 
thousand  shares  of  it  at  the  reduced  figure.  The 
mining  stock  went  begging  at  thirty  and  thirty-two, 


86  TOUS0  MISS  GIDDY. 

and  when  the  storm  blew  over,  I  had  nine-tenths  of 
it  in  my  safe  at  those  prices." 

The  young  man  gazed  at  his  father  like  one  fascin- 
ated. 

"And  had  you  no  sympathy  for  the  thousands  of 
laborers  who  were  all  that  time  out  of  work  ?"  he 
asked,  dragging  the  sentence  as  one  drags  a  chain. 

"  Absolutely  none.  That  autumn  they  elected  a 
legislature  which  chose  me  Senator  for  the  second 
time.  An  antagonist  must  win  my  respect  before  he 
can  claim  much  of  my  sympathy.  Why,  look  at 
these  workingmen.  Almost  every  one  of  them  has  a 
ballot.  If  they  knew  how  to  use  it,  we  and  not  they 
would  be  suing  for  mercy.  What  can  I  think  of  an 
army  numbering  millions  who  will  let  a  few  hundred 
of  their  fellowmen  ride  over  them.  We  wonder  at 
the  facility  with  which  Cortes  conquered  the  Aztec 
nation.  The  American  laborer  permits  the  same 
thing  with  a  proportionately  smaller  array  of  con- 
querers." 

The  son  opened  his  eyes  wider. 

"  Surely  you  have  pity  for  their  misguided  condi- 
tion," said  he. 

"In  a  way,  yes.  I  have  pity  for  the  beeves,  the 
lambs,  the  fish  that  will  grace  my  table  ;  but  not 
enough  to  prevent  my  dining.  The  world  seems  to 
me  a  battle-ground.  Those  with  the  most  finesse 
come  off  victors.  To-day  it  is  men  like  our  capital- 
ists who  defeat  the  many.  To-morrow  the  tables 
may  be  turned  ;  but  I  don't  believe  it." 

Charles  glanced  again  at  his  sister,  still  watching 
the  young  artisan.  It  gave  him  time  to  collect  hia 
thoughts. 

"  The  conditions  outlined  in  '  Looking  Backward  ' 


MiLtlOtf   DOLLAM.  87 

cannot  be  brought  about,"  he  said,  presently,  "  except 
by  what  you  would  probably  call  confiscation  of 
private  property  in  land,  mines  and  railroads.  I  feel 
very  strongly  that  I  ought  to  help  in  speeding  that 
day,  and  yet  in  all  I  may  do  I  shall  be  placed  in  a 
position  of  antagonism  to  your  business  interests." 

The  laugh  with  which  the  Senator  greeted  this 
sober  declaration  was  louder  than  those  which  pre- 
ceded it. 

"  Do  what  you  like,  my  dear  boy,"  he  said,  laying 
his  hand  on  his  son's  shoulder,  patronizingly.  "  You 
are  as  free  as  if  1  was  not  the  slightest  relation  to 
you.  But  let  me  remind  you  that  one  result  will  be 
to  lessen — provided  you  are  successful — the  size  of 
the  fortune  I  hope  to  divide  between  you  and  May." 

Charles  studied  the  young  carpenter  over  whose 
work  his  sister  seemed  still  to  bend  with  interest. 
Was  there  such  an  advantage,  after  all,  in  possessing 
so  much  money  ?  Was  not  Austin  Strange  as  happy 
with  his  meagre  salary  as  the  son  of  a  millionaire? 
Then  he  thought  of  Austin's  sister  Esther,  that 
peculiar  girl  who  had  demanded  that  he  make  her  a 
lady. 

"  Do  you  think,  father,"  he  asked,  "  that  any  one 
person  has  a  real  right  to  control  fifteen  million  dol- 
lars ?" 

"  Undoubtedly.  The  fact  that  he  can  get  posses- 
sion  of  that  sum  is  his  guaranty.  These  things  take 
care  of  themselves.  The  proof  that  a  man  ought  not 
to  have  a  certain  amount  of  wealth  is  found  when 
he  cannot  maintain  his  hold  upon  it.  For  instance, 
were  I  to  die  to-morrow  and  leave  you  half  my  prop- 
erty, you  would  probably  demonstrate  that  it  was  a 
great  deal  too  much  for  you.  You  would  scatter  it 


fl  TWNG   MISS  OIDDT. 

in  benefactions  which  might  and  might  not  be  of 
use  in  the  long  run.  Many  men  have  such  a  strong 
desire  to  see  their  fortunes  conserved  after  their  de- 
cease that  they  make  the  most  elaborate  wills,  pre- 
venting their  heirs  from  spending  the  principal  as 
long  as  the  laws  will  permit  an  entail.  I  have  done 
nothing  of  the  kind.  I  have  found  my  money  a 
source  of  comfort,  a  barrier  against  the  privations 
that  my  parents  came  near  compelling  me  to  endure 
for  life.  If  my  children  choose  to  scatter  the  whole 
of  it,  that  will  be  their  affair.  I  have  shown  them 
what  it  will  buy,  they  have  themselves  seen  how 
uncomfortable  its  absence  can  make  people,  and  the 
course  they  take  must  be  governed  accordingly." 

Charles  Scarlett  searched  in  vain,  both  in  the  tone 
and  manner  of  his  father,  forany  indication  that  more 
was  hidden  in  these  words  than  appeared  on  the  sur- 
face. The  Senator  had  spoken  in  his  usual  clear  and 
open  style.  The  young  man  almost  sighed  for  a 
parent  who  would  issue  commands  that  he  must 
obey.  It  was  painful  sometimes  to  be  permitted  to 
follow  his  own  bent. 

"  Come,  May  !"  called  Mr.  Scarlet.  "  It  is  time 
we  drove  home  to  lunch." 

The  girl  hesitated  a  second  or  two  before  leaving 
the  young  artisan  whose  work  she  had  been  watch- 
ing so  long. 

"Good-by,"  she  said  to  him. 

The  carpenter's  lips  moved  in  reply,  but  if  there 
was  any  sound  it  was  a  very  faint  one. 

"  I  would  like  to  see  that  when  it  is  finished," 
added  Miss  Flora.  And  the  young  man  nodded  to 
show  that  he  understood. 

Two  or  three  hours  later  Austin  Strange  went  tq 


FIFTEEN   MILLION    DOLLARS.  99 

Mr.  Bayley  with  the  piece  of  wood  he  had  been 
carving. 

"  Miss  Scarlett  wishes  to  have  some  one  bring  this 
to  her  house,"  he  said.  He  spoke  with  a  timid  air 
that  did  not  agree  well  with  his  robust  figure  and 
healthy  complexion.  "  She  wants  to  see  it  before  it  is 
put  in  place." 

The  Architect  inspected  the  wood  minutely,  and 
then  gave  an  almost  equally  close  inspection  to  the 
young  fellow. 

"  Your  name  is  Austin  Strange,  I  believe  ?"  he  said, 
curtly. 

It  is  the  custom  of  employers  the  world  over  to  use 
that  tone  to  those  who  draw  wages  from  them. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"Lyman  Strange  is  your  father?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

Mr.  Bayley  looked  again  at  the  piece  of  wood, 
which  seemed  to  please  him,  for  he  smiled  affably. 

"  How  long  have  you  worked  at  the  business?" 

"  Four  years." 

"  Did  you  do  this  alone  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  You  did  it  very  well." 

The  Architect  looked  the  young  man  full  in  the 
face  as  he  said  this,  expecting  to  see  something  there 
to  show  the  pleasure  of  being  praised,  but  there  was 
nothing.  The  countenance  was  certainly  intelligent, 
but  it  maintained  a  perfect  stolidity  under  a  compli- 
ment that  would  have  delighted  most  young  artisans. 

"  What  is  your  age  ?"  was  the  next  question. 

"Twenty  years." 

"  You  began  young." 

There  was  no  answer  to  this  remark. 


90  ronra  MISS  GIDDY. 

Strange  recurred  to  the  wood  in  his  hand. 

"Will  you  see  that  this  is  sent  to  Miss  Scarlett?" 

"  You  know  where  she  lives  ?"  asked  Mr.  Bayley. 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"Then  you  had  best  take  it,  yourself." 

The  carpenter  eyed  the  Architect  for  the  first 
time. 

"  I,  sir  ?"  he  repeated. 

"Yes,  she  may  want  to  say  something  that  you 
will  understand  better  than  any  one  else." 

"Very  well,"  said  the  unemotional  young  man, 
turning  away. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  DAVE,  1  AM  A  DEVIL  !" 

During  the  year  which  followed,  Douglass  May- 
bury  pursued  the  sort  of  life  that  is  usually  aptly 
described  as  "  raising  the  devil."  His  career  was 
one  of  dissipation  in  the  various  forms  affected  by 
men  of  fashion,  who  have  nothing  of  importance  to 
do  and  feel  it  necessary  to  kill  time.  The  habit  of 
drinking  to  excess  grew  upon  him,  until  he  seldom  if 
ever  went  to  bed  sober.  He  gambled  to  a  mild  extent. 
With  women  he  was  the  same  roue  as  ever,  seeking 
iiason  after  liason,  becoming  disgusted  with  the 
Whole  business  at  least  once  a  week  to  the  extent  of 
solemnly  swearing  off,  and  then  losing  his  head  if 
not  his  heart  with  the  next  opportunity  to  disgrace 
a  foolish  girl  or  a  giddy  wife.  Such  was  his  natural 
good  health,  however,  that  he  stood  all  of  these 


"DATE,  i   AM  A 

drains  with  very  little  impression  upon  his  handsome 
countenance,  and  appeared  in  the  best  society,  as 
great  a  favorite  with  clubmen  and  with  aspiring 
mammas  as  before. 

One  of  the  things  he  tried  hardest  to  do  was  to 
keep  out  of  the  way  of  Augustus  Scarlett  and  his 
daughter.  A  feeling  had  been  growing  in  his  breast 
in  relation  to  this  girl  which  made  him  intensely 
uneasy  in  her  presence.  She  was  a  standing  rebuke 
to  his  manner  of  living — this  dainty  bit  of  Parian 
marble — and  he  felt  the  hot  blushes  mantle  his  cheek 
every  time  he  was  compelled  to  hold  ever  so  brief  a 
conversation  with  her.  It  seemed  the  thing  for  his 
friends  on  every  side  to  couple  their  names,  and  he 
did  not  mean  to  have  them  do  so  from  any  fault  of  his. 
He  knew  himself  very  well,  and  he  could  not  think 
with  patience  of  connecting  such  a  model  of  innocence 
with  the  depraved  nature  that  had  grown  up  in  him 
until  he  was  no  longer  his  own  master.  If  it  was 
the  custom  to  mate  such  men  with  such  angels,  he 
would  prevent  society  from  having  its  way  in  this 
instance. 

Maybury  knew  that  there  was  a  concerted  action 
all  along  the  line  to  secure  him,  willing  or  no,  no 
matter  how  long  a  time  it  took  to  accomplish  the 
object.  Miss  Flora  was  the  obedient  child  one  reads 
of  in  fiction,  ready  to  carry  out  her  father's  wishes, 
believing  him  the  wiser  judge  as  to  what  was  good 
for  her.  Being  taught,  as  no  doubt  she  had  been, 
that  she  would  probably  be  some  day  the  wife  of 
Mr.  Maybury,  she  had  accustomed  herself  to  like 
him,  as  a  matter  of  duty.  But  what  did  she  know 
about  it,  after  all  ?  To  girls  like  her,  in  the  "  upper 
classes,"  marriage  was  a  complete  revelation,  not  a 


92  TOTING   MISS   GIDDT. 

single  page  of  which  could  be  even  guessed  until 
the  wedding-day. 

Douglass  had  declared  to  himself  a  thousand 
times  that  there  was  one  outrage  which  he  would 
never  perpetrate.  That  was  the  betrayal  of  an 
entirely  innocent  girl.  With  one  like  Flora  Scarlett 
the  crime  would  be  almost  equally  great,  even 
though  the  deception  practiced  was  inside  the  mar- 
riage bond. 

Do  what  he  might,  he  could  not  wholly  escape. 
He  went  to  a  great  many  houses  that  were  also  o« 
the  Senator's  list,  and  it  would  never  do  to  show  to 
observant  watchers  that  he  was  trying  to  avoid  Miss 
Scarlett.  Whenever  he  found  himself  in  the  same 
parlor  he  always  went  to  the  young  girl's  side  and 
spoke  to  her  like  an  ordinary  acquaintance,  cutting 
the  conversation  as  short  as  he  could  without  attract- 
ing attention,  and  generally  pleading  that  other 
engagements  compelled  him  to  leave  early.  At 
places  like  the  theatre  and  opera,  when  he  saw  that 
he  was  noticed  from  her  box,  he  went  around  to  say 
a  word  about  the  play,  declining  the  offered  seat  on 
account  of  a  party  of  gentlemen  friends  below  who 
would  expect  him  to  rejoin  them.  To  the  daughter 
he  was  affable,  to  her  father  courteous  on  all  occa- 
sions, but  it  was  next  to  impossible  now  to  get  him 
to  dine  at  their  residence,  so  full  of  "  previous 
acceptances  "  did  he  prove. 

Mr.  David  Bayley  had  all  he  could  do  to  persuade 
the  Senator  to  have  patience,  declaring  that  he 
would  almost  stake  his  life  on  the  ultimate  success 
of  the  plans  he  was  maturing. 

Miss  Flora  accompanied  her  father  often  to  the 
mansion  on  earth  which  his  hired  men  were  preparing 


"DAVE,  i  AM  A  DEVIL!"  93 

for  her  delectation.  She  took  a  great  pleasure  in 
watching  the  workmen,  and  especially  young  Austin 
Strange,  who  seemed  as  of  yore  quite  oblivious  of 
her  presence,  and  continued  taciturn,  emotionless, 
industrious.  One  day,  as  she  was  about  to  leave 
the  premises,  she  encountered  on  the  steps  Mr. 
Douglass  Maybury,  who  was  going  in  to  meet  Mr. 
Bayley,  with  whom  he  had  an  appointment  to  lunch 
in  a  newly-discovered  restaurant  in  the  French 
quarter,  glowing  accounts  of  which  the  Architect 
had  brought  him  on  the  previous  evening.  The 
young  gentleman  met  the  gaze  of  the  girl  with 
heightened  color. 

"I'm  going  to  take  a  look  at  your  house,  Mr. 
Scarlett,"  he  said.  "  It  is  quite  a  long  time  since  I 
was  inside." 

"  You'll  notice  a  slight  change,  then,"  smiled  the 
Senator.  "  It  seems  to  go  rather  slowly,  considering 
that  there  are  seventy-five  men  working  on  it  all  the 
time."  . 

Maybury  looked  for  a  fraction  of  a  second  at  the 
daughter,  but  bis  glance  fell  before  the  remarkable 
clearness  of  her  large  blue  eyes. 

"Oh,  it  takes  time,"  he  answered.  "  Vanderfeldt's 
house  was  two  years  and  a  half  in  building,  you 
know." 

"And  this  will  cost  half  a  million  more,"  replied 
Mr.  Scarlett,  reflectively. 

This  may  sound  in  cold  type  like  a  boast,  but  it 
did  not  seem  so  when  it  fell  from  the  Senator's  lips. 
His  manner  was  that  of  a  man  who  counts  millions 
as  other  men  count  simple  hundreds  of  dollars. 

"  I  hope  you  are  well,"  said  Maybury  to  the  young 
lady. 


94  Yotrjro  MISS  GIDDY. 

"  I  am  about  as  usual,  thank  you,"  she  said. 
"  You  should  come  to  see  us  oftener,  and  then  you 
would  not  have  to  ask  that  question." 

Maybury  blushed  again,  just  enough  to  tint  his 
exceedingly  fair  complexion. 

"  May  is  right,"  smiled  her  father.  "  The  best 
thing  you  can  do  is  to  jump  into  the  carriage  here 
and  go  home  to  lunch  with  us." 

Miss  Flora  sweetly  seconded  this  suggestion,  but 
Mr.  Maybury  explained  the  appointment  he  had 
come  to  keep  with  Mr.  Bayley.  There  was  an  evi- 
dent nervousness  in  his  tone,  which  did  not  escape 
the  quick  ear  of  his  would-be  host. 

"  Then  make  it  dinner — at  seven,"  said  Mr.  Scar- 
lett. "There  are  some  things  I  want  to  talk  over 
with  you.  Go  in  and  see  the  house  and  come  and 
tell  me  what  you  think  about  it.  The  last  time  you 
inspected  it  you  had  some  excellent  ideas  that  I  put 
to  service." 

"You  will  come?"  added  the  young  lady,  before 
he  could  formulate  and  utter  the  words  that  would 
have  made  another  declination. 

There  was  no  easy  avenue  of  escape  for  Mr.  May- 
bury.  He  put  the  best  face  he  could  on  the  matter, 
saying  he  would  come  to  dinner  with  the  greatest  of 
pleasure. 

"  Er — excuse  me — is  there  to  be  any  one  else  ?"  he 
asked. 

"Not  a  soul.  Only  we  three.  Just  a  nice  little 
family  party.  It  will  be  as  informal  as  a  picnic  in 
the  woods." 

This  was  not  the  answer  Mr.  Maybury  hoped  for. 
Had  there  been  going  to  be  a  dozen  others  he  would 
bare  liked  it  better,  but  he  only  replied  that  he 


"IU.VB,    I    AM  A   DBVtLT  9* 

would  be  punctual,  and,  as  he  turned  toward  the 
house,  he  lifted  his  hat  once  more  to  the  young 
lady  and  blushed  as  he  again  encountered  her  calm 
expression. 

As  soon  as  he  entered  the  unfinished  drawing-room, 
the  Architect  came  from  the  front  window  to  greet 
him.  Mr.  Maybury  knew  that  his  friend  had  prob- 
ably watched  the  tableau  that  had  just  taken  place  in 
front  of  the  house,  and  that  he  could  be  depended 
upon  to  say  something  not  acceptable  in  reference  to 
it.  He  was  consequently  prepared  with  his  answers. 

"  Miss  Scarlett  looked  very  pretty  to-day,"  said 
Mr.  Bayley,  meaningly. 

41  Now,  Dave,"  expostulated  Mr.  Maybury,  "don't 
irritate  me,  please.  I  want  to  see  the  house,  and  I 
don't  want  to  talk  about  women.  What  have  you 
been  doing  in  the  last  three  months  ?  If  I  was  the 
Senator  I'd  discharge  you  for  not  making  a  better 
showing." 

Mr.  Bayley  laughed,  showing  some  very  good 
teeth. 

"  Want  to  see  the  house,  eh  ?  Want  to  inspect 
your  future  home  ?" 

Douglass  Maybury  made  a  gesture  of  intense  dis- 
approval. 

"Why  the  deuce,"  he  demanded,  "must  you  be 
disagreeable  ?  You  know  there  will  never  be  any- 
thing between  me  and  the  Scarlett  family." 

"  Do  I  ?"  Mr.  Bayley  smiled  again.  "  I  know 
nothing  of  the  kind.  I  know  it  would  be  the  best 
match  in  the  world.  You  are  young,  good-looking, 
well-educated,  of  an  old  and  hightly  respected 
family.  She  is  beautiful,  good-tempered,  rCdr  as 
Croesus  and  her  father's  favorite.  A  special  com- 


96  YOUNG   MISS    GIDDY. 

mission,  appointed  out  of  all  the  wise  men  in  the 
nation,  would  declare  that  you  were  made  for  each 
other." 

Maybury  was  very  restive  under  the  speech  of  his 
friend,  but  he  seemed  to  try  not  to  show  undue 
repugnance. 

"This  isn't  the  first  time  you  have  talked  that 
way,"  he  replied,  "and  you  know  what  I  have  told 
you  ;  there's  no  use  in  my  repeating  it." 

"  No,  there  isn't,"  smiled  Mr.  Bayley,  "  for  it  never 
contained  anything  worthy  to  be  called  an  argument. 
I  can  sum  it  up  in  forty  words  :  '  You  think  you  are 
not  good  enough  for  her ;  you  have  been  playing 
the  rake  a  little  ;  you  occasionally  indulge  in  cards, 
and  once  in  a  while  get  overtaken  with  wine.'  Bah  ! 
So  does  every  other  man  of  sense  in  this  age  !  You 
take  your  peccadilloes  too  seriously." 

For  some  seconds  Maybury  leaned  on  the  sill  of 
the  window,  by  which  he  had  seated  himself,  and 
looked  up  and  down  the  avenue.  It  was  a  pleasing 
prospect,  the  view  that  spread  out  before  him.  So 
far  as  New  York  could  be  said  to  be  worth  living  in 
at  all,  no  better  locality  could  have  been  selected  on 
which  to  rear  a  palace  for  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can House  of  Lords.  The  future  son-in-law  of  the 
Senator  would  be  a  man  to  be  envied  his  habitation. 

"Why  don't  you  put  the  thing  as  it  is,  if  you  are 
bound  to  discuss  this  wearisome  question,"  he  asked, 
when  he  roused  himself.  "Why  don't  you  admit 
that  I  could  be  true  to  no  woman  who  was  not  built 
of  the  commonest  kind  of  clay  ?  What  a  mate  I 
would  make  for  that  delicate  bit  of  porcelain  !  Three 
days  after  marriage  she  would  be  horrified  at  the 
sight  of  me.  In  a  month  she  would  demand  either  a 


"DAVE,  i  AM  A  DEVIL H*  9flT 

separation  or  a  divorce.  I  am  a  devil,  Dave,  and 
you  know  it,  while  she —  " 

He  paused  in  vain  for  a  simile. 

i£ven  the  flippancy  of  the  Architect  was  silenced 
by  the  manner  in  which  this  was  said.  Maybury 
had  taken  the  matter  to  heart  deeper  than  he  sup- 
posed. 

"  To  that  young  girl,"  pursued  Maybury,  after 
another  moment  of  silence,  "  marriage  would  be  a 
solemn  sacrament.  She  ought  to  have  a  husband  to 
whom  she  could  look  as  to  a  god  !" 

Then  the  smile  returned  to  the  face  ol  the  Archi- 
tect. 

"  She'll  be  likely  to  get  one  of  that  kind,  won't  she  ?" 
he  queried,  ironically.  "  You  know  the  list  there  is 
to  choose  from.  How  many  gods  are  there  in  the 
lot  ?  How  many  fellows  in  that  set  are  better  fitted 
for  the  role  of  an  amateur  deity  than  yourself  ?" 

Maybury  was  compelled  to  make  a  mental  admis- 
sion that  this  insinuation  had  a  substantial  basis. 

"  But  there  is  always  the  ministry,"  he  replied. 
'•Those  fellows  may  not  have  any  very  great  stand- 
ing-, but  they  won't  break  a  girl's  heart  with  infidel- 
ities, nor  get  brought  home  at  six  A.  M.,  too  full  to 
get  into  the  house  alone." 

The  Architect  dismissed  this  notion  with  a  wave 
of  his  hand. 

"  She  will  aever  marry  a  clergyman,"  he  said. 
"  She  will  do  whatever  her  father  wishes  and  he  has 
quite  different  ideas.  He  wants  some  one  who  will 
build  up  the  social  end  of  the  family.  There  must 
be  Blood  in  the  match,  at  all  events.  He  likes  gay- 
ety,  or  the  semblance  of  \t.  By  Gad,  the  old  man 


tt  Yotrao  wise 

hasn't  a  very  great  record  for  living  too  close  to  the 
virtuous  mark,  if  it  comes  to  that !" 

Maybury  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"We're  not  talking  of  my  marrying  him!"  he 
retorted.  "  And  besides,  Scarlett  always  knows 
how  to  carry  himself.  He  doesn't  go  off  at  half- 
cock,  like  me.  If  he  takes  a  glass  he  stops  when  \  <* 
has  had  enough.  If  he  sets  his  eye  on  a  pre',  ,y 
woman  he  don't  get  into  a  frenzy  and  throw  all 
there  is  of  him  into  the  scale,  as  I  do.  Why,  Dave, 
when  a  woman  gets  hold  of  me,  I've  no  more  sense 
than  that  bench  over  there.  I'd  put  my  head  in 
that  vise  and  let  her  turn  it,  if  she  wanted.  Now 
that's  bad  enough  for  a  single  man,  but  it  would 
play  the  deuce  with  one  married  to — to  a  girl  like 
that." 

Mr.  Bayley  whistled  provokingly  an  air  from  the 
opera  of  Carmen,  and  there  came  before  the  mind's 
eye  of  his  companion  the  scene  where  the  cigarette 
girl  detains  the  young  soldier  who  hears  the  bugle- 
call  of  his  regiment. 

"  I  only  wish  the  chance  lay  in  my  way,"  said 
the  Architect,  presently,  and  with  a  more  serious 
manner. 

Maybury  looked  up  at  him. 

"You.'"  he  ejaculated.     "  You'd  be  worse  than  I  !M 

"  Of  course  I  would,"  said  Bayley,  with  a  trace  o( 
his  old  smile.  "  I'm  more  cold-blooded,  to  begirt 
with.  I'm  not  trying  to  raise  comparisons  favorablt 
to  myself,  nor  in  fact  to  do  anything  except  ta 
indicate  what,  in  my  opinion,  you  ought  to  do,  and 
could  do  if  you  liked.  A  marriage  with  the  daughter 
of  a  man  worth  fifteen  or  twenty  millions  is  not  a 
thing  to  dismiss  without  consideration.  You  could 


-OATH,  i  AM  A  DEVIL!"  99 

be  Scarlett's  son-in-law,  if  you  chose.  Now,  why 
shouldn't  you  ?  Is  it  because  the  daughter  is 
hideous,  dull,  old — any  of  those  objectionable  things 
that  so  often  go  with  this  sort  of  live-stock  ?  Not  a 
bit  of  it  !  She  is  pretty  as  a  picture,  intelligent, 
amiable,  young — as  Shakespeare  would  say,  'a 
morsel  for  a  monarch.'  Her  family  has  as  yet  noth- 
ing but  wealth  to  recommend  them — at  least  on  the 
father's  side — but  in  the  present  day  nobody  sniffs 
at  millionaires.  She  is  a  great  catch — all  New  York 
admits  that.  How  old  is  she  ?  Nineteen  ;  and  she 
has  refused,  through  the  Hon.  Augustus,  twenty 
eligible  offers.  Why  has  the  Senator  snubbed  the 
Van|  Rasselans,  the  Fitz  Robinsons  and  the  De 
Cooks?  Because  he  has  set  his  mind  on  a  May- 
bury." 

The  young  man  half  rose  from  his  seat. 

"  Speak  lower,"  he  cautioned,  fearing  that  some  of 
the  artisans  in  the  next  room  might  catch  the  drift 
of  the  conversation.  "You  don't  know  that,  Dave." 

"  But  you  know  it.  You  know  it  as  well  as  you 
know  you  live.  To-night  you  are  invited  to  dinner 
at  the  Scarletts.  If  you  should  throw  aside  your 
idiotic — beg  your  pardon — doubts  of  your  fitness, 
and  say  to  the  Senator,  over  your  cigar,  that  you 
would  like  to  enter  his  family,  it  would  please  him 
better  than  a  ten  per  cent,  advance  in  the  price  of 
silver  bullion." 

Yes,  Maybury  knew  it.  He  had  observed  too 
many  things  to  leave  much  doubt  on  this  score.  It 
was  because  he  knew  it  that  he  hated  to  go  to  the 
dinner  at  all.  He  had  a  half  fear  that  the  Senator 
might  propose  the  thing  to  him  out  of  hand,  instead 
of  waiting  for  him  to  take  the  initiative. 


109  YOUNG   MISS    OIDDT. 

"  As  I  started  to  say,"  resumed  the  Architect, 
"  what  would  be  your  sensible  position  ?  Why,  to 
put  the  question  to  the  old  man — I  use  the  ordinary 
technical  term — and  have  it  over  with.  He  would 
tell  you  to  ask  Miss  Flora,  and  that,  if  you  could  win 
her  consent,  you  should  both  have  his  blessing.  In 
tlvee  or  four  days  you  would  run  in  again  and  he 
would  take  pains  to  leave  you  together.  You  would 
say  the  right  thing  in  the  right  words,  and  she  would 
drop  those  big  eyes  of  hers  and  accept  you  with 
speechless  content.  Nothing  could  be  more  simple. 
Douglass.  A  little  common  sense,  an  ounce  of 
courage,  and  it  would  be  all  over." 

The  Architect  laid  his  hand  affectionately  on  the 
arm  of  his  friend  and  noticed  that  he  was  trem- 
bling. 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  came  the  hardly  audible 
reply.  "  It  would  not  be  all  over  then.  It  would  be 
just  begun." 

Mr.  Bayley  drew  a  discouraged  breath. 

"  I  could  get  you  up  a  set  of  plans  and  specifications 
to  meet  every  emergency,"  he  said,  "as  easily  as  I 
could  do  them  for  a  house  or  a  block  of  stores." 

Maybury  straightened  himself  up  a  little  and  eyed 
the  speaker  with  new  interest. 

"Do  you  think  you  could  make  that  woman 
satisfied  to  have  her  husband  brought  home  drunk?" 

"  My  dear,  helpless  fellow,  couldn't  you  keep  sober 
a  month  or  two,  with  a  stake  like  this  in  view  ? 
After  you  were  married  six  or  eight  weeks  you 
could  make  a  thousand  excuses  to  get  a  few  days 
away  and  lush  to  your  heart's  content.  You're  not 
such  a  common  drunkard  as  you're  trying  to  make 
out.  I  never  saw  you  actually  stiff  but  once." 


"DAVK,  i  AM  A  Divii.P  104 

Maybury  shivered. 

"  That  makes  a  nice  picture  to  recall,  doesn't  it  T 
he  said,  bitterly.  "  I  must  have  looked  sweet,  in  the 
wine-room  at  that  French  ball,  with  Carrie  Ten  Brok 
and  Mrs.  Lareve,  all  of  us  so  full,  we  couldn't  tell 
when  you  put  us  into  the  carriage.  You  know  how 
you  and  Willie  Jardine  had  to  lie  your  heads  off  to 
keep  LarSve  from  divorcing  Marie.  And  Carrie's 
marriage  was  postponed  three  months  on  account 
of  the  talk  that  couldn't  be  quieted.  We  might  as 
well  have  done  it  all  in  the  middle  of  Union  Square. 
Imagine  that  thing  occurring  after  I  had  married 
Flora  Scarlett  1" 

The  Architect  took  a  few  steps  up  and  down  the 
room. 

"  But  it  wouldn't  occur,"  he  said,  on  returning. 
"  You  would  engage  a  long-headed  valet,  who 
wouldn't  let  you  go  to  such  lengths.  I  know  one 
of  those  fellows,  a  Swiss,  who  would  treat  you  like 
a  spoiled  child  if  you  got  into  any  such  mess.  You 
would  have  to  take  him  with  you  everywhere,  and 
instruct  him  never  to  let  you  pass  a  certain  limit." 

A  laugh  came  to  chase  the  dull  look  for  a  moment 
from  the  young  man's  face. 

"  You  don't  seem  to  know  me  as  well  as  you 
think,"  he  said.  "  When  I  am  half-full  nobody  can 
reason  with  me.  If  this  chap  undertook  to  say  or 
do  too  much,  I'd  be  more  than  half  likely  to  knock 
him  down." 

"  Oh,  no,  you  wouldn't,"  was  the  ready  reply. 
"  He  is  six  feet  high  and  weighs  about  one-ninety. 
He  has  been  taken  for  the  Russian  czar  when  in 
Europe,  but  he  is  much  taller  and  heavier.  For  five 
years  he  was  valet  to  the  Duke  of  Y  He  would 


103  Yotrao  MISS  oxocnr. 

have  been  there  now  had  not  the  Duchess  taken  too 
violent  a  fancy  to  him.  This  is  a  secret,  of  course, 
but  everybody  knows  it  in  England  and  on  the 
Continent.  I  could  get  him  for  you,  and  he  would 
stop  all  your  monkey  business  just  on  the  right  side 
of  the  danger  line." 

But  Maybury  still  shook  his  head. 

"  I  don't  think  your  description  any  too  charm- 
ing," he  said.  "  A  valet  with  whom  wives  fall  in 
love  is  not  specially  attractive." 

Mr.  Bayley  leaned  very  close  to  his  companion* 

"  In  these  days,"  he  said,  with  a  wealth  of  mean- 
ing, "  it  is  something  to  have  a  wife  to  whom  such  a 
thing  would  be  morally  impossible  !" 

There  was  a  great  deal  in  this,  Maybury  admitted 
to  himself,  a  very  great  deal.  It  was  the  only  thing 
that  had  been  said  which  had  a  distinctly  favorable 
effect  upon  him.  He  knew  the  rumors,  the  cer- 
tainties that  pervaded  his  circle  in  relation  to 
married  women.  Everybody  knew  all  about  some 
of  them  except  the  husbands  they  were  disgracing. 
And  there  were  not  a  few  cases  where  this  giddy 
young  man  had  seen  fashionable  weddings,  with 
bishops  and  stately  processions,  and  organ  music, 
with  a  column  in  the  society  prints  and  a  grand 
tour  of  Europe  to  supplement  them,  where  the 
bride  had  only  left  the  arms  of  a  lover, — perhaps 
several  of  them — to  go  to  those  of  her  bridegroom. 
The  husbands  didn't  know — they  had  never  sus- 
pected up  to  this  day — but  some  time  there  was 
liable  to  an  explosion,  possibly  the  snap  of  a 
revolver. 

Yes,  if  a  man  must  marry,  it  was  a  great  thing  to 


I   AM   A   DSVIfc!"  108 

have  a  wife  of  whom  such  things,  either  before  or 
after  the  ceremony,  were  impossible  to  conceive. 

The  Architect  had  a  good  deal  of  shrewdness  in 
his  composition,  and  he  saw  the  effect  of  this  sugges- 
tion. But  he  wisely  decided  to  say  nothing  more 
at  the  time,  hoping  that  the  seed  he  had  sown  would 
gain  some  root  of  itself,  and  fearful  to  disturb  it  by 
any  more  present  cultivation,  he  suggested  a  walk 
over  the  premises,  and,  as  this  Was  one  of  the  objects 
of  Mr.  Maybury's  visit,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  follow 
his  leader. 

Everything  was  certainly  in  the  very  acme  of 
luxury  and  taste. 

"  This  entire  suite  is  to  be  Miss  Flora's,"  said  Mr. 
Bayley,  as  they  reached  the  second  floor.  M  You  see 
it  is  on  the  southerly  side,  and  commands  a  view  of 
the  river  and  the  park.  Just  look  at  this  for  a  bath- 
room!" 

In  the  centre  of  a  large  room,  paved  with  the  fin- 
est marbles,  an  enormous  bath  was  sunk  nearly  to  the 
floor  level.  As  the  Architect  went  on  with  his  ex- 
planations, Maybury's  mind  fastened  itself  upon  the 
girl  who  was  to  use  that  magnificent  apartment  ; 
so  pure  and  sweet  that  its  offices  must  be  largely 
superfluous  ;  so  modest,  he  was  sure  no  tiring  maid 
would  be  permitted  to  remain  within  those  doors 
while  her  mistress  disrobed  herself  of  her  final  gar- 
ments. To  be  the  husband  of  such  a  creature  would 
be  a  glory  for  one  as  pure,  as  free  from  the  taints  of 
earth  as  she,  but  never  for  a  man  of  sensual  thought, 
of  low  contemplations.  From  Carrie  Ten  Brok  and 
Marie  Lareve  to  Flora  Scarlett  was  too  far  a  cry. 
He  could  not  estimate  the  distance. 

Douglass  Maybury  had  always  considered  himself 


10*  TOUNO  MISS   OIDOT. 

a  pretty  lucky  fellow,  but  he  went  out  of  that  house 
thoroughly  despondent.  If  he  could  have  been  reared 
in  a  different  school !  Why  had  he  been  allowed  to 
follow  every  inclination  since  he  was  in  kilted  skirts  ? 
It  would  have  been  so  much  better  to  have  kept  a 
heart  in  which  there  was  one  white  spot,  than  to  have 
waded  neck-deep  in  all  that  sea  of  sensual  passion  ! 
He  thought,  as  he  rode  with  Mr.  Bayley  toward  the 
restaurant  where  they  were  to  lunch,  of  a  possible 
young  man,  entirely  new  to  the  knowledge  of  sex  in 
its  grosser  and  distorted  shapes,  wedded  to  a  girl 
like  Flora,  living  with  her  an  idealic  life  in  such  a 
palace  as  that.  The  reflection  was  so  depressing 
that  had  it  not  been  for  his  promise  to  dine  with  the 
Senator  he  would  have  gone  directly  home  from 
his  lunch  and  drunk  himself  into  unconsciousness 
forthwith. 

The  Architect  did  not  again  allude  to  the  matter 
that  preyed  most  deeply  upon  his  mind.  He  saw 
that  his  friend  was  in  a  new  mood,  and  he  hoped 
that  good  would  come  of  it.  The  match  he  was  try* 
ing  to  further  seemed  to  him  a  most  desirable  one, 
in  itself,  to  say  nothing  of  his  wish  to  please  his 
munificent  employer.  Family  and  wealth  would 
make  the  proper  combination.  He  thought  that 
Douglass,  as  he  grew  older,  would  acquire  wisdom, 
ultimately  fitting  into  the  convenient  groove  arranged 
for  him,  and  grateful  to  those  who  had  assisted  in 
placing  him  there. 

While  getting  ready  for  dinner  letters  were 
brought  to  Mr.  Maybury,  one  of  them  being  the 
quarterly  one  to  which  he  had  limited  his  protege1, 
Miss  Esther  Strange,  now  at  her  boarding-school. 
He  threw  it  into  a  drawer  without  reading  it,  in  a 


105 


fit  of   sulks  that  had  been  growing  upon  him  ever 
since  noon. 

"  I  believe,  upon  my  soul,  that  women  will  be  the 
death  of  me  !"  he  exclaimed,  to  the  astonishment  of 
his  valet.  "  If  I  knew  of  a  country  where  they 
never  had  such  things,  I  would  go  there  on  the  next 
train,  so  help  me  Moses  !" 


CHAPTER  IX, 

A   DINNER   AT    FLORA'S, 

Douglass  Maybury  went  to  the  Scarlett  mansion 
that  evening  to  dinner,  but  he  did  not  propose  for 
the  hand  of  Miss  Flora.  He  sat  at  table  with  her 
and  her  father,  raising  his  eyes  occasionally  to  meet 
her's,  as  the  conversation  proceeded,  a  little  afraid  of 
her,  venerating  a  purity  so  much  higher  than  he 
could  ever  claim.  And  when  she  withdrew,  accord- 
ing to  custom,  to  allow  "the  gentlemen  "  to  light 
their  cigars,  he  discussed  politics,  finance,  theatrical 
matters,  and  a  dozen  other  things  with  the  Hon. 
Augustus. 

He  was  well  aware  that  Mr.  Scarlett  was  no  saint, 
before  Mr.  David  Bayley  alluded  to  the  fact.  He 
knew  him  for  a  successful  sharper,  and  that  in  the 
matter  of  women  he  was  a  connoisseur.  He  had  no 
doubt  the  Senator  would  have  laughed  to  scorn  the 
scruples  which  made  him  feel  that  union  with  a  girl 
like  Flora  was  an  impossibility.  Appearances  were 
the  only  things  that  Mr.  Scarlett  eared  about.  He 


106  YOUNO    34188    GIDDY, 

did  not  claim  that  a  man  should  be  as  good  as  the 
woman  he  intended  to  wed,  but  only  that  his  amours 
should  make  no  public  scandal. 

The  Senator  did  not  pass  the  evening  without 
allusions  intended  to  assist  Douglass  in  making  up 
his  mind.  The  unvarying  success  that  he  was  having 
in  business  matters  was  brought  up  in  various  ways. 
The  amount  to  be  lavished  on  the  new  residence 
came  in  as  a  matter  of  course. 

"  People  call  me  extravagant,  but  they  don't 
know  my  resources,"  said  Mr.  Scarlett,  amiably. 
"  My  fortune  has  come  to  me  very  fast.  In  fact, 
there  is  getting  to  be  almost  too  much  of  it.  After 
a  man  has  a  certain  sum  the  rest  is  merely  bother. 
As  soon  as  May  is  twenty-one — or  sooner,  should  she 
get  married, — I  am  going  to  give  her  an  even  mil- 
lion, for  pocket-money." 

Mr.  Maybury  had  to  remark  that  this  would  be 
very  convenient. 

"  Well,  some  people  would  so  consider  it,"  laughed 
the  Senator.  "  Still,  it  is  not  likely  she  will  ever 
need  to  touch  it.  My  children  have  tastes  the 
opposite  of  extravagant.  Now,  there's  Charles.  I 
don't  suppose  he  spends  five  thousand  dollars  a 
year  on  himself.  He  gives  away  a  lot,  but  his  per- 
sonal habits  are  positively  penurious.  He's  immense- 
ly like  his  mother.  She  would  have  given  her  last 
penny  if  anybody  had  asked  her,  and  she  was  con- 
tent with  the  plainest  living.  What  do  you  suppose 
Charles  has  done  last  ?  Why,  he's  been  initiated 
into  the  Knights  of  Labor  !" 

This  was  sufficiently  astonishing  to  draw  an  ex- 
clamation from  the  hearer,  who  inquired,  as  soon  as 
he  could  command  himself,  how  that  came  about. 


A   U3K&B    AT   HLOBA'f.  107 

"I  don't  exactly  know,"  said  the  Senator,  with 
another  laugh.  "  I  have  made  it  a  rule  ever  since 
my  children  were  born  to  let  them  do  pretty  much 
as  they  please.  It  is  the  habit  of  most  parents  to 
surround  their  young  people  with  a  set  of  rules  that 
make  their  existence  a  burden,  but  I  have  had  none 
of  that.  My  theory  is  that  a  boy  or  girl  will  show 
what  is  in  them  in  one  way  or  another,  and  that  all 
the  repression  and  severity  in  the  world  won't  guide 
them  in  a  way  they  don't  wish  to  go.  You  look 
surprised,  and  I  don't  wonder,  as  the  idea  is  cer- 
tainly not  the  one  commonly  accepted.  But  the 
more  I  have  watched  the  plan  adopted  by  my  neigh- 
bors and  compared  it  with  my  own,  the  more  I  am 
convinced  that  my  way  is  the  best." 

The  guest  had  at  Last  found  something  to  interest 
him,  and  the  attention  he  showed  impelled  his  host 
to  proceed. 

"  Take  the  case  of  Charles,"  he  said.  "  Supposing 
I  had  spent  the  past  twenty  years  in  trying  to  instill 
into  his  mind  the  fact  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  man 
of  wealth,  and  that  certain  social  duties  were  required 
of  him.  Supposing  I  had  given  him  to  understand 
that  his  position  raised  a  bar  between  him  and  the 
mechanic  or  artisan  class — that  he  ought  to  maintain 
a  dignity  and  reserve  in  his  relations  with  them.  He 
might  have  followed  my  instructions,  but  he  would 
have  lived  a  thoroughly  unhappy  and  uncomfortable 
life.  He  has  all  the  notions  of  a  philanthropist, 
coupled  with  a  feeling  that  men  ought  to  be  equal 
in  the  matter  of  brotherhood.  I  have  let  him  act 
out  what  was  in  him  ;  and  to-day,  instead  of  hating 
me,  as  half  the  sons  of  rich  men  do  to  their  fathers, 
he  thinks  me  a  dear,  mistaken  fellow,  whom  he  hopet 


108  YOU N<1    MISS    01  DDT. 

sometime  to  convert  to  his  own  doctrines.  You  can- 
not mould  a  human  being  as  you  can  the  material 
which  a  potter  fashions  with  his  wheel.  They  have 
bents  and  inclinations  that  all  the  labor  in  the  world 
only  serves  to  distort  and  make  into  something 
unlovely.  Let  a  child  alone,  say  I.  Or,  rather,  help 
him  along  in  whatever  direction  his  tastes  lead  him. 

"  I  know  of  a  father  who  is  trying  to  make  a 
statesman  out  of  a  son  who  ought  to  be  a  chemist. 
The  family  influence  has  got  the  boy  into  the  Assem- 
bly, but  he  dislikes  politics,  from  a  caucus  to  a 
committee  chairmanship.  The  last  time  there  was 
an  important  division  he  refused  to  go  because  an 
experiment  in  chemistry  might  be  spoiled  if  he  left 
it  for  an  hour.  The  greatest  trouble  in  this  world 
is  that  men  are  in  the  wrong  places  everywhere. 
There  are  clergymen  who  ought  to  be  cobblers, 
farmers  who  ought  to  be  architects,  doctors  who 
would  make  much  better  engineers.  I  came  within 
an  inch  of  having  my  entire  life  ruined,  because  I 
was  born  in  the  country  where  there  was  no  outlet 
for  what  talent  I  had.  When  my  children  came,  I 
determined  that  they  should  do  as  they  pleased  in 
everything,  and  I  would  have  said  the  same  if  my 
income  had  been  a  hundred  dollars  a  month." 

Mr.  Maybury  knocked  reflectively  from  his  Havana 
a  long  ash  that  had  been  accumulating — a  sort  of 
unearned  increment  of  ash,  for  he  had  not  had  the 
cigar  in  his  mouth  for  the  past  five  minutes. 

"In  everything?"  he  repeated,  slowly. 

"  In  everything,"  was  the  earnest  reply.  "  You 
see  what  I  do  with  Charles.  I  can  hardly  be  supposed 
to  fancy  having  him  with  those  common  laborers, 
helping  them  conspire  against  the  peace  of  the 


A  DEETNEB   AT   FLORA'S.  109 

business  community,  and  yet  I  haven't  said  a  word. 
He's  got  just  as  good  a  right  to  be  there  as  I  have  to 
stay  away,  that's  my  whole  theory  in  a  word.  The 
point  is  here,  my  dear  Mr.  Maybury  ;  we  can't  do 
the  thinking  for  other  people.  It  is  morally  impossi- 
ble to  put  ourselves  in  their  places.  A  thing  that 
seems  just  to  us,  may  seem  unjust  to  them.  We 
should  leave  every  one  entirely  untrammeled  and  let 
things  sift  themselves  out  in  their  own  way." 

The  young  man  bowed  politely  as  the  speaker 
reached  a  pausing  point,  and  then,  with  some  mis- 
givings, asked  whether  the  same  sort  of  treatment 
would  work  equally  well  with  girls. 

"  Exactly  as  well,"  was  the  answer,  as  if  Mr. 
Scarlett  had  anticipated  that  the  point  would  be 
raised.  "  A  girl  is  going  to  do  about  as  she  has  a 
mind,  no  matter  how  much  pains  is  taken  to  swerve 
her.  Take  the  simple  matter  of  chastity,  for  instance. 
How  often  do  we  find  the  greatest  virtue  in  the 
poorest  quarters,  while  the  Upper  Ten  is  growing 
notorious  for  laxity.  You  can't  doubt  that  goodness 
it  inculcated  into  tha  minds  of  every  wealthy  girl, 
by  her  mother,  her  governess  and  her  teachers,  as 
she  grows  up.  Besides  this,  she  is  surrounded  with 
what  are  meant  for  safeguards  on  every  side — almost 
fenced  in  from  dangers  to  which  the  poorer  girl  is 
entirely  undefended.  Nevertheless,  the  kitchen-maid 
will  fight  for  her  purity  between  the  slop-pail  and 
the  range,  while  the  other  deliberately  plans  to 
circumvent  her  pastors  and  guardians.  What  can 
you  say  to  that  ?  Present  the  Trees  of  Good  and 
Evil  to  girls  as  well  as  to  boys  ;  explain  to  them  the 
nature  of  the  fruit  on  both,  and  your  duty  is  done. 
Beyond  that,  time  is  thrown  away." 


lit)  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

The  young  guest  poured  out  a  half  glass  of  cham 
pagne  and  remarked,  wondering  if  what  he  said 
would  be  thought  to  have  a  personal  tinge,  that 
example  must  have  a  considerable  effect. 

"  I'm  not  pretending  to  set  myself  up  as  a  pro- 
fessor of  this  science,"  said  he,  u  for  I  know  very 
little  about  it.  But  I  should  think  that  the  young 
mind  would  be  influenced  a  good  deal  by  the  conduct 
of  the  people  whose  duty  it  is  to  advise  it.  If  a 
mother  urges  chastity  upon  her  daughter,  and  the 
child  learns  that  she  is  untrue  to  her  teaching,  the 
effect  of  her  admonitions  must  be  largely  neutralized. 
If  she  inculcates  charity  and  never  gives  away  a 
cent ;  if  she  urges  neatness  and  acts  the  sloven — you 
see  my  point.  I  have  often  thought  that  girls  are 
better  than  boys,  because  women  are  better  than  men. 
The  young  lad  learns  that  chastity  is  not  reckoned  a 
vital  virtue  among  the  masculine  part  of  the  race, 
and  he  acts  accordingly." 

The  Senator  seemed  to  take  great  pleasure  in  this 
conversation.  It  was  not  easy  for  him  to  get  May- 
bury  so  deeply  interested  in  anything,  and  he  was 
glad  to  keep  him  to  the  mark. 

"Let  me  ask  you  candidly,"  he  said,  "whether 
your  experience  has  shown  you  that  girls  really  are 
so  much  better  than  boys.  Isn't  that  idea  largely  in 
the  imagination  ?" 

For  a  moment  Maybury  was  unable  to  reply. 

"  Have  you  ever  read  Dr.  Hammond's  book  ?"  pur- 
sued the  questioner.  "  If  you  have,  you  may  recall  the 
instances  to  which  I  allude.  It  is  a  habit  for  lovers  to 
invest  their  feminine  divinities  with  superhuman 
attributes.  I  suppose  that  is  a  part  of  the  plan  of 
natus« ;  but,  like  many  other  things,  it  sometimes 


A  DIHWER   AT  T&OBA'a.  Ill 

becomes  abnormal.  It  is  the  custom  in  these  days 
to  place  too  great  stress  on  mere  continence.  People 
talk  too  much  about  it,  think  of  it  too  much,  make 
too  big  a  fuss  over  it.  If  some  girl  of  good  family 
'goes  astray,'  as  it  is  denominated,  and  the  reporters 
get  at  it,  all  the  newspapers  will  devote  as  much 
space  to  the  event  as  they  would  to  the  derailment 
of  a  train  or  the  failure  of  a  bank.  A  thousand 
women  who  haven't  been  discovered  read  the  partic- 
ulars with  avidity.  It  helps  the  talk  at  the  clubs  and 
the  four  o'clocks,  but  what  other  good  it  does  I  don't 
know.  Wouldn't  a  man  of  common  sense  say  it 
was  a  thing  that  concerned  only  the  girl  and  her 
family  ?  Her  great  offense  is  that  she  has  violated 
the  social  code  by  permitting  her  secret  to  get  abroad. 
There  is  a  three  days'  sensation,  and  the  girl  is  ostra- 
cised by  women  no  better  than  she." 

Mr.  Maybury  remarked  that  the  making  of  news- 
papers was  a  business  matter  and  that  it  was  the 
custom  of  business  men  to  offer  their  patrons  the 
goods  that  sold  best. 

41  That's  true,"  was  the  ready  reply.  "  But  these 
fellows  who  run  the  papers  profess  respectability. 
As  the  world  is  made  up,  they  know  these  stories 
will  ruin  the  peace  of  some  of  the  best  people  in  the 
community.  They  know  they  would  do  all  in  their 
power  to  suppress  them  if  they  were  in  anything  but 
the  newspaper  trade.  And  still  they  cater  to  scandal 
and  serve  it  up  with  all  the  detail  their  best  writers 
can  give  it" 

Mr.  Maybury  suggested  that  it  was  the  commun- 
ity, after  all,  that  controlled  the  contents  of  the 
daily  press.  The  editors  printed  what  was  wanted. 


Hi  YOUNG    MISS    GIDDY. 

They  were  quick  to  scent  the  public  taste,  as  shown 
by  the  receipts  in  the  counting-room. 

"You  wouldn't  stand  in  front  of  a  barometer  and 
criticise  it  for  recording  the  humidity  of  the  atmos- 
phere," he  said,  argumentatively.  "To  me  the  daily 
journal  is  a  valuable  indicator  of  the  condition  of 
the  public  mind.  A  little  while  ago  one  of  the 
greatest  American  poets  died  on  the  evening  of  a 
prize  fight.  The  papers  had  immense  headings  over 
both  events,  on  the  first  page,  side  by  side,  but  the 
prize  fight  headings  were  the  longer.  A  little  before 
that  fifty  people  were  killed  by  a  train  falling  through 
a  bridge,  on  the  same  day  that  a  prominent  Ameri- 
can in  France  discovered  another  man  in  his  wife's 
bedroom.  The  editors  had  to  cut  the  accident  down 
to  a  column  to  get  in  ten  columns  that  described  the 
sensation  of  the  hour.  One  of  the  men  on  the  Daily 
Planet  told  me  they  could  hardly  print  papers  enough 
on  their  lightning  presses,  so  anxious  were  the  read- 
ers to  get  an  exact  description  of  the  lace  on  Mrs. 
Blank's  chemise.  I  have  to  plead  guilty  with  the 
rest,  for  I  bought  the  paper  for  that  reason  alone, 
when  I  am  in  the  habit  of  reading  another  one  whose 
account  of  the  affair  was  much  briefer." 

The  Senator  smiled  amiably  at  the  admission,  and 
said  he  had  done  the  same  thing. 

"  But  I  would  like  it  stopped,  for  all  that,"  he 
added.  "  There  is  no  knowing  when  one  of  our 
friends  may  be  the  victim,  and  in  that  case  I  doubt 
if  it  would  be  so  pleasant." 

If  the  Hon.  Augustus  believed  he  was  making  it 
easier  for  Mr.  Douglass  Maybury  to  solicit  the  hand 
of  his  daughter  by  the  conversation  that  has  been 
partially  given  here,  he  was  much  mistaken.  Posted 


A   DINNER   AT   FLORA 's.  118 

to  some  extent  by  Mr.  Bayley,  the  Senator  had  been 
given  a  part  of  the  reason  why  the  young  man 
delayed  coming  to  the  point.  Miss  Flora  towered 
too  far  above  him.  He  felt  unworthy  of  such  a 
radiantly  pure  being.  Mr.  Scarlett  had  tried  to 
show  his  guest  that  too  much  stress  might  be  put 
on  sins  of  a  venial  character,  hoping  that  this  would 
remove  the  mountain  in  his  way.  In  trying  to 
accomplish  this  he  had,  however,  as  is  apt  to  be  the 
case,  gone  too  far.  His  last  suggestion  that  public 
exposure  of  one's  peccadilloes  would  be  very  dis- 
agreeable, had  made  more  impression  on  Mr.  May- 
bury  than  all  the  rest. 

"If  I  should  marry  Flora,"  he  was  saying  to 
himself,  "  and  anything  about  me  got  into  the 
newspapers,  it  would  simply  break  her  heart.  I  am 
such  a  harum-scarum  fellow,  it  would  be  as  likely 
to  happen  as  not.  No,  pleasant  as  it  appears,  it 
cannot  be.  I  must  give  her  up." 

There  had  never  been  a  word  on  th«  subject  of 
love  or  marriage  between  Mr.  Maybury  and  Miss 
Scarlett,  but  Douglass  determined  that  she  should 
know  his  mind.  Everybody  seemed  to  have  picked 
them  out  for  each  other.  It  was  evident  that  the 
Senator  liked  him  immensely,  while  he  had  been  as 
cold  as  the  north  wind  to  all  the  other  marriageable 
young  men  who  had  sought  to  get  within  the 
charmed  circle  of  his  daughter's  acquaintance.  He 
was  the  only  one  of  them  who  was  ever  invited  to  dine 
at  the  house  enfamille.  Miss  Flora  expected  him  to 
ask  for  her  hand,  when  the  right  time  came.  He  had 
tried  his  best  to  think  he  ever  could  ask  it,  and  he 
could  not.  This  he  must  let  her  know,  unequivo- 


114  YOUNG    MISS    GIDDT. 

cally  ;  or,  he  must  let  her  fatherknow,  which  amount- 
ed to  the  same  thing. 

He  would  have  to  marry  before  many  years,  of 
throw  himself  into  the  Bay.  A  man  of  his  descent 
and  appearance  could  have  his  pick  when  the  inevit- 
able hour  came,  from  half  a  hundred  heiresses  of  the 
ordinary  mould,  to  whom  a  man  might  be  untrue,  if 
it  came  to  that,  without  wanting  to  take  corrosive 
sublimate.  What  though  they  had  not  Miss  Scar- 
lett's beauty,  or  a  tithe  of  her  expectations  ?  Enough 
is  enough,  the  world  over. 

In  the  morning  he  went  to  see  Mr.  Coke.  That 
gentleman  looked  as  benignant  as  ever,  with  his 
white  hair  and  gold-rimmed  glasses,  and  as  on  all 
other  occasions,  confined  himself  mainly  to  answer- 
ing the  questions  put  to  him. 

"  I  am  going  off  on  another  journey,"  said  Doug- 
lass. "  I  suppose  my  cash  has  not  yet  run  out 
entirely." 

"  No." 

"  I  want  a  letter  of  credit  for  a  couple  of  thousand 
and  when  necessary  I  shall  write  to  you  for  more." 

"I  will  send  it  to  your  rooms  in  an  hour." 

Maybury  had  reached  the  door  of  the  lawyer's 
office  when  he  bethought  himself  of  another  matter. 

"  What  do  you  hear  of  the  little  girl  ?  Is  she  doing 
well  at  her  school  ?" 

"  The  accounts  have  been  very  favorable." 

"  You  have  never  seen  her,  I  suppose,  since  she 
went  there  ?" 

"  Yes.  She  has  been  here  two  or  three  times,  in 
her  vacations,  inquiring  for  you.  Knowing  you  did 
not  wish  to  be  troubled  I  gave  her  evasive  answers 
at  to  your  addresses  when  you  were  out  of  town." 


A  DINUEE  AT   FLOURS.  116 

"How  did  you  know  I  did  not  wish  to  see  her?" 

"She  told  me  she  had  written  you  several  times 
since  you  had  sent  a  reply." 

The  old  fox  !  Who  but  a  lawyer  would  have 
been  so  wise  ! 

"  You  are  sending  the  same  amount  to  her  as 
before,  I  suppose  ?"  said  Douglass,  half  afraid  that 
Mr.  Coke  might  have  stopped  these  payments  out 
of  some  mathematical  demonstration  of  his  acute 
brain. 

,    "Certainly.     You  have  never  countermanded  the 
order." 

"  Did  she  say  anything  special  ?" 

"  Only  that  she  had  been  to  call  on  her  relations 
and  made  her  stay  as  brief  as  possible.  One  of  her 
teachers  has  taken  her  to  the  principal  watering- 
places  when  the  school  was  not  in  session." 

It  was  all  right.  He  was  very  glad  she  had  not 
discovered  him. 

When  he  reached  his  room  he  found  an  envelope 
in  Esther's  handwriting  that  had  just  been  left  by 
the  postman.  It  contained  something  hard,  like  a 
piece  of  paste-board,  undoubtedly  a  photograph, 
presumably  of  herself.  He  took  it  with  several 
others  he  found  in  his  bureau  when  clearing  it  out 
preparatory  to  packing  up,  and  put  it  unopened  in 
the  grate. 

He  had  decided  to  travel,  but  the  point  of 
destination  was  not  yet  thought  of.  The  main  thing 
was  to  get  away  from  New  York  and  the  Scarletts, 
and  let  them  know  that  he  had  gone,  probably  for  a 
long  time.  He  wrote  a  few  notes,  one  of  them, 
composed  with  great  care,  to  the  Senator.  In  it  he 
taid  he  was  going  for  a  thorough  change.  He 


11(J  YOUNG  MI88   GIDDY. 

hardly  knew  himself  where  he  should  land.  He 
might  be  gone  a  year  or  two.  No  one  hated  the 
formality  of  good-byes  so  much,  and  he  was  going 
to  treat  all  his  friends  alike  in  that  respect. 

"  Convey  my  regards  to  Miss  Flora,"  he  said  at 
the  end,  "  and  tell  Bayley  not  to  expect  letters.  I 
never  can  bring  myself  to  the  work  of  correspond- 
ence when  I  am  on  the  wing." 

Mr.  Maybury's  baggage  was  checked  for  the  first 
stage  to  "  Washington,  D.  C."  And  Mr.  David 
Bayley,  Architect,  knew  it  before  the  trunks  had 
been  gone  five  hours  from  the  city. 


CHAPTER   X. 

*IF   A   GIRL   COULD   FIND   A   MAM." 

As  Congress  would  not  convene  until  later,  Mr. 
Maybury  thought  himself  quite  safe  in  Washington 
from  the  Hon.  Augustus  for  a  month  at  least.  He 
went  to  the  Arlington,  because  it  was  the  thing  to 
do,  though  there  are  three  or  four  newer  hotels  in 
which  the  traveler  can  find  certainly  as  good  accom- 
modations for  his  money.  Maybury  had  visited  the 
Capital  before  and  had  a  number  of  acquaintances 
there.  He  frequented  one  of  the  swell  clubs  in  a 
quiet  way,  asking  those  who  knew  him  to  avoid 
introductions,  as  far  as  possible.  In  spite  of  this, 
that  astute  detective,  Mr.  David  Bayley,  was  kept 
apprised  of  almost  his  every  move.  Mr.  Scarlett, 
naturally,  received  all  the  information  that  came  to 


"IF  A  GIRL  OOULD   FIND  A  MAN.P  117 

the  Architect,  and  the  only  reason  that  neither  of 
these  gentlemen  walked  in  upon  the  fugitive  was 
because  they  did  not  deem  it  advisable  to  hasten 
things  in  the  state  of  mind  in  which  they  believed 
him  to  be. 

Miss  Flora  was  soon  told  by  her  father  that  May-* 
bury  had  left  New  York,  and  that  he  might  not 
return  for  a  long  time.  The  Senator  eyed  his  daugh- 
ter furtively  to  discover  whether  this  information 
had  any  pronounced  effect  upon  her,  but  she  was  as 
placid  as  the  Adriatic  on  a  midsummer's  day.  She 
was  getting  ready  at  the  time  to  take  a  ride  over  to 
the  new  mansion,  and  her  only  response  was  a  simple 
"  Indeed  !"  uttered  without  stress  of  tone.  So  very 
uninterested  did  she  appear  that  the  Senator  was 
moved  to  sound  her  a  little  in  reference  to  the 
matter. 

"  I'm  sorry  he's  gone  off  just  now,"  he  said.  "  I 
shall  be  a  trifle  lonely  until  Congress  meets,  and  I 
hoped  to  see  a  great  deal  of  him.  Douglass  is  good 
company  at  any  time." 

Flora  bowed  in  acquiescence,  as  she  arranged  her 
sealskin  cap  before  a  mirror. 

"  Don't  you  think  he  is  a  very  pleasant  young 
man  ?"  continued  the  father,  as  she  seemed  to  have 
nothing  further  to  say  on  the  subject. 

She  looked  up  to  study  his  face  for  one  brief 
moment  and  then  threw  her  gaze  reminiscently  into 
space. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  at  the  conclusion  of  her  rumina- 
tion. 

But  there  was  nothing  in  it.  Had  he  told  her  that 
one  of  the  servants  was  going  to  leave,  she  would,  he 
felt  sure,  have  shown  equal  interest. 


118  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  with  me  when  Congress 
opens  ?"  pursued  Mr.  Scarlett. 

At  this  the  girl  shook  her  head  with  more  decision. 

"  You  know,  papa,"  she  said,  "  I  never  liked  Wash- 
ington." 

"  Mr.  Maybury  is  there,"  he  replied,  impressively. 

"I  do  not  see  why  that  should  make  any  differ- 
erence." 

The  Senator,  who  had  taken  it  for  granted  that 
his  daughter  entertained  a  feeling  toward  the  absent 
one  something  stronger  than  this,  was  betrayed 
into  unmasking  himself. 

"  Do  you  ever  think,"  he  asked,  slowly,  "  that 
some  day  you  will  have  to  marry  ?" 

Miss  Flora  turned  from  the  mirror,  where  she  was 
arranging  a  stray  lock  of  hair,  and  surveyed  the 
speaker. 

"  Why,  papa,  are  you  tired  of  me  ?"she  exclaimed. 

"  Certainly  not,"  he  answered.  "  I  only  speak  of 
the  natural  course  of  events.  It  is  not  expected 
that  a  girl  will  allow  herself  to  become  an  old  maid, 
if  she  has  a  fair  share  of  good  looks — and  especially 
if  she  has  a  decent  fortune." 

The  girl  turned  back  to  the  mirror,  and  took  a 
complete  survey  of  her  physical  charms,  as  far  as 
they  were  revealed  in  its  surface. 

41  Have  I  '  a  fair  share  of  good  looks  '  ?"  she  asked, 
with  a  trace  of  mischievousness. 

"  You  are  handsome,  and  you  know  it  very  well. 
You  also  know  that  more  than  one  young  gentleman 
of  good  family  has  applied  for  your  hand." 

Miss  Flora  eyed  the  hand  for  which  the  young 
gentlemen  of  good  family  had  applied,  as  if  to  dis- 
cover  what  they  found  so  very  attractive  in  it. 


KIF   A  GIRL   COULD   FIND  A  MAW."  119 

"And  you  have  told  me,  papa,"  she  said, "  that  most 
of  them,  in  your  private  opinion,  cared  more  for  the 
money  I  am  to  inherit  than  for  the  face  you  are  so 
kind  as  to  call  pretty." 

"  Quite  true,"  he  admitted.  "  It  is  one  of  the  mis- 
fortunes of  wealth  that  it  provokes  insincerity." 

The  daughter  looked  reflectively  into  the  mirror 
and  then  at  the  richly  furnished  apartment. 

"  If  a  girl — could  find  a  man — who  did  not  care  for 
her  money, — who  would  love  her,  as  the  novels  say, 
«for  herself  alone,'— marriage  would  seem  pleasanter 
to  contemplate." 

The  millionaire  was  disconcerted  by  the  directness 
of  this  assertion.  He  wondered  if  she  had  been 
influenced  by  the  story-books  she  had  read  and  had 
developed  a  romantic  vein  that  had  never  been  ex- 
posed to  his  view.  However,  it  was  not  the  first  time 
that  he  had  felt  the  force  of  her  innocent  nature,  an 
innocence  unfathomable  to  this  man  of  the  world. 

"  There  is  a  great  deal  to  be  said  on  that  score," 
he  replied,  after  a  moment's  consideration.  "  An 
absolutely  penniless  man  is  seldom  fitted  to  mate 
happily  with  a  girl  who  has  been  brought  up  in 
affluence.  Their  habits  and  tastes  are  unlikely  to 
agree.  While  wealth  does  not  make  one  better  in  a 
certain  sense,  it  refines  and  enlarges  the  social  capac- 
ity, and  makes  its  possessor  fitter  to  manage  prop- 
erty that  may  fall  to  his  care." 

The  girl  nodded,  as  if  the  matter  was  not  of  very 
great  importance  in  her  mind,  and  resumed  her 
position  at  the  mirror,  buttoning  her  sacque. 

"  Mr.  Maybury,"  resumed  the  Senator,  when  he 
had  observed  her  in  silence  for  a  short  time,  "  has 
been  accustomed  to  the  highest  society.  His  family 


120  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDT. 

is  one  of  the  best  in  the  country.  I  think  his 
acquaintance  a  valuable  one  to  cultivate." 

This  was  much  more  than  he  had  been  in  the 
habit  of  saying,  and  his  daughter  could  not  mis- 
stake  the  meaning  of  a  single  syllable. 

"  I  don't  see  how  we  can  cultivate  it  at  present," 
she  smiled,  "  now  that  he  has  taken  the  pains  to 
leave  us." 

"  He  will  not  be  likely  to  remain  away  forever." 

«  No  ?" 

Flora  resumed  the  reflective  look.  Then,  sud- 
denly, she  put  the  question  to  him  : 

"  Has  Mr.  Maybury  asked  if  he  may  marry  me  ?" 

The  Senator  reddened  ;  and  it  was  not  often  that 
he  blushed. 

"  My  dear,"  he  answered,  "  I  have  no  doubt  that  he 
realizes  how  very  young  you  are  and  does  not  wish 
to  press  us.  And  he  is  such  a  thorough  gentleman, 
he  may  also  have  compunctions  about  proposing  to 
a  girl  whose  fortune  is  so  much  greater  than  his 
own." 

Again  there  was  a  heavy  silence  in  the  room,  inter- 
rupted at  last  by  Miss  Flora's  maid,  who  came  to 
see  if  she  was  ready  for  her  ride.  When  the  servant 
had  been  dismissed  with  the  information  that  there 
would  be  yet  a  few  minutes  to  wait,  Miss  Scarlett 
spoke  to  her  father. 

"  If  Mr.  Maybury  ever  should  propose  to  me,  you 
want  me  to  accept  him  ;  is  that  it  ?" 

If  she  had  asked  what  they  were  to  have  for  din- 
ner, or  whether  her  cap  was  on  straight,  she  would 
have  put  the  inquiry  in  the  same  tone. 

"  I  never  mean  to  influence  my  children — "  began 
the  Senator,  "  but — " 


"IF  A  OIBL  OOUlJ)   FIND  A  MAW."  Ml 

"It  would  please  you,  would  it  not?"  she  asked 
again.  "  It  would  meet  your  ideas  of  what  is  best 
to  do  ?" 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  anxiously,  "  that  it  would  be  a 
splendid  match." 

Flora  looked  into  the  glass  for  the  tenth  time. 
She  was  pretty,  there  was  no  denying  it. 

"  But — he  hasn't  asked  yet,"  she  mused.  "And—- 
he never  may.  And — if  he  ever  does,  the  marriage 
need  not  be  for  a  long  time." 

The  Senator  agreed  with  these  statements  and 
began  to  recover  his  evenness  of  disposition.  The 
unexpected  way  in  which  she  had  driven  him  to 
declaring  his  opinions  had  thrown  him  out  of 
plumb,  as  one  might  say,  for  a  little  while. 

As  this  seemed  to  bring  the  conversation  to  a 
period,  the  young  lady  remarked  that  she  was  ready 
to  proceed  on  her  way  to  the  new  house,  and  inquired 
if  her  father  would  accompany  her.  As  he  pleaded 
another  engagement,  she  entered  the  carriage  at  the 
door  with  her  maid  and  was  driven  to  her  des- 
tination. 

Mr.  Bayley  came  forward  to  welcome  her,  as  was 
his  wont.  He  said  he  was  glad  she  had  come,  as  he 
wanted  her  to  see  the  suite  designed  for  her  special 
use  before  he  completed  the  finish.  She  followed 
him  to  that  section  of  the  house,  and  listened  while 
he  explained  the  design,  seeming  to  take  only  a 
languid  interest. 

"  It  will  be  very  nice,"  was  all  she  said,  in  answer 
to  his  voluble  discourse. 

"  I  have  not  decided  on  the  frescoing  in  the  bath- 
room," said  the  Architect,  disappointed  even  though 


13B  T00B0    MISS    GIDDY. 

he  knew  she  had  said  as  much  as  usual.  "  If  yoa 
have  any  choice,  it  will  aid  me  very  much." 

Miss  Scarlett  quietly  entered  the  room  in  question. 
She  stood  for  some  moments  surveying  it  on  every 
side,  apparently  in  a  brown  study. 

"  There  are  so  many  things  you  could  have,"  ven- 
tured Mr.  Bayley,  "  that  it  is  hard  to  tell  what  to  do. 
I  have  seen  rooms  of  this  kind  on  which  large  sums 
of  money  were  spent,  the  best  painters  putting  their 
finest  work  on  the  walls  and  ceilings.  Of  course, 
harmony  is  the  first  requisite.  Now,  if  we  were  to 
give  Tortonelli  carte  blanche — " 

Miss  Scarlett  interrupted  him. 

"  I  think  a  perfectly  plain  surface  will  suit  me 
best,"  she  said.  "  At  least,  you  may  leave  it  that 
way  for  the  present.  After  we  have  moved  in,  I  can 
send  for  the  frescoers,  if  I  change  my  mind." 

It  was  the  custom  of  this  shrewd  diplomatist  to 
acquiesce  in  the  opinions  of  his  employers  whenever 
they  differed  from  his  own,  and  he  made  no  excep- 
tion of  this  case,  though  his  architectural  and  artis- 
tic soul  was  grieved  to  the  utmost.  He  had  con- 
ceived of  a  beautiful  allegorical  sketch,  in  which 
cupids  and  angels  were  scattered  over  a  warm 
ground,  conveying  that  idea  of  languor  which  accom- 
panies the  thought  of  a  comfortable  bath.  When 
future  guests  were  shown  over  the  building  they 
would  wonder,  he  was  sure,  why  such  a  magnificent 
room  was  left  in  a  state  that  must  appear  unfinished. 
The  explanation  that  "  Miss  Flora  desired  it,"  would 
hardly  satisfy  the  spectators. 

Mr.  Bayley  believed  that  the  excessive  modesty  of 
his  employer's  daughter  prevented  her  from  wishing 
too  much  display  in  a  room  used  for  such  an  ex* 


"IF   A   O1EL   OOULD   FHfD    A   MAX.*  128 

trcmely  private  purpose.  This  modesty  was  not  of 
the  obtrusive  kind,  that  vents  itself  in  downcast  eyes 
and  reddening  cheeks,  giving  out  more  of  self-con- 
sciousness than  of  a  retiring  nature.  Flora  had 
stated  her  preference  for  plain  walls  and  ceilings 
without  changing  her  usual  manner,  and  her  will  had 
been  law  to  those  about  her  ever  since  she  was  able 
to  walk. 

From  the  bathroom  the  girl  strolled  to  another 
floor,  where  the  young  carpenter,  Austin  Strange, 
was  at  his  work.  He  glanced  up  at  her  entrance, 
but  cast  his  eyes  down  again  immediately.  She 
went  near  him  and  said  "  Good  afternoon,"  to  which 
he  responded  in  similar  phrase.  His  work  never 
suffered  in  the  least  because  it  was  her  fancy  to 
spend  a  good  deal  of  time  watching  him. 

"  What  do  you  hear  of  your  sister  ?"  she  inquired, 
after  she  had  been  engaged  in  silently  observing  his 
work  for  at  least  five  minutes. 

She  had  heard  Charles  speak  of  Esther  and  had 
inquired  about  her  at  other  times. 

"  Nothing,"  was  his  short  reply. 

"  Is  she  still  at  that  school  where  she  was  sent  ?" 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  You  answer  as  if  you  didn't  care,"  said  the  girl, 
reflectively. 

There  was  no  reply  to  this  statement.  It  took 
more  than  a  remark  of  that  kind  to  induce  this  fel- 
low to  take  part  in  a  conversation. 

"  You  are  hardly  fair  with  her,"  continued  Flora, 
when  she  saw  that  he  did  not  intend  to  speak.  "  She 
has  a  natural  liking  for  comfort  and  education  and 
the  things  that  make  life  enjoyable  to  a  woman.  If 
some  kind  person  has  volunteered  to  aid  her  in  that 


184  TOUNO   MISS   GIDDT. 

matter,  you  ought  to  be  glad  of  it,  and  not  act  morose 
when  you  are  .spoken  to  on  the  subject.  She  may 
never  come  back,  but  she  will  do  better  than  your 
father  could  have  done  for  her.  It  is  wrong  to  feel 
jealousy  because  she  has  had  the  good  luck  to  reach 
the  higher  strata  of  life  in  a  quicker  and  easier  man- 
ner  than  some  others  can  do." 

The  carpenter  was  planing  a  piece  of  valuable 
wood,  requiring  the  greatest  expertness.  He  went 
on  with  what  he  was  doing,  as  if  there  was  no  other 
person  in  the  neighborhood. 

"  Father  wants  me  to  go  to  Washington  with  him 
to  spend  the  winter,"  said  the  girl,  presently. 

She  knew  this  would  make  him  look  up,  and  it 
instantly  had  that  effect.  It  did  more.  It  loosened 
his  tongue. 

"And  you  told  him  you  did  not  care  to  go." 

She  smiled  pleasantly,  asking  how  he  could  state 
this  with  such  absolute  certainty,  but  he  did  not 
reply.  He  was  at  his  work  again,  having  resumed 
his  old  attitude. 

"Of  course  I  told  him  that,  you  guesser  of  rid- 
dles," she  said,  with  a  tone  that  came  near  approach- 
ing familiarity.  "  But  that  does  not  imply  that  he 
accepted  my  view  of  the  case.  He  says  he  will  have 
to  go  next  month,  when  Congress  meets.  Besides, 
Mr.  Douglass  Maybury  is  in  Washington,  and — he 
wants  me  to  see  him." 

The  carpenter's  plane  cut  too  deep  that  time.  The 
wood  he  had  labored  on  for  hours  was  ruined,  and 
he  bad  to  get  another  piece  and  begin  again. 


FLORIDA    IN    WINTER.  125 

CHAPTER  XI. 

FLORIDA    IN    WINTER. 

Maybury  did  not  regain  long  in  Washington,  as 
he  wanted  to  be  sure  of  avoiding  Senator  Scarlett, 
who  was  expected  early  in  December.  He  went 
next  to  Richmond  and  stayed  a  few  days,  examining 
the  city,  where  he  had  never  before  alighted  from 
the  train.  The  relics  of  War  times  entertained  him. 
He  liked  the  situation  and  general  lay-out  of  the 
streets,  feeling  that  it  must  be  a  pleasant  home  for 
those  who  had  friends  and  kinsmen  there.  A  good 
deal  of  his  time  was  consumed  in  going  from  his 
chamber  in  the  Exchange  and  Ballard  to  the  office 
and  dining-room,  across  the  bridge  which  spans  the 
public  street  and  connects  those  formerly  divided 
hostelries.  On  departing  from  the  Virginian  capital 
he  ran  over  to  Old  Point  Comfort  and  Norfolk  for 
a  day  or  two,  and  then  proceeded  to  Charleston. 

Charleston  interested  the  traveler  very  much,  and 
he  took  in  the  sights  thoroughly,  including  the 
historic  islands  in  the  harbor.  The  typically  South- 
ern architecture  gratified  a  mind  delighted  with 
everything  which  bore  a  foreign  aspect.  South 
Carolina  was  as  new  to  him  as  England  was  the 
first  time  he  visited  the  British  Isles.  The  immense 
number  of  negroes  in  the  streets  struck  him  oddly. 
Truly  the  United  States  was  a  great  country,  when 
it  could  present  sucii  a  varying  selection  of  people 
and  climates,  all  under  one  flag. 

At  Savannah  he  was  no  less  pleased.    The  park- 


135  YOUNG  MISS  omnr. 

ways  of  the  old  city  struck  him  as  prettier  than  any- 
thing else  he  could  recall  this  side  the  sea.  The 
big  De  Soto  hotel  had  not  then  been  built,  but  he 
stopped  at  the  Pulaski  House,  where  he  was  treated 
well.  He  bore  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  editor 
of  the  most  prominent  newspaper,  and  found  him  a 
thoroughly  enjoyable  gentleman.  The  chief  engineer 
of  the  county  works  took  him  to  see  his  canals,  that 
were  transforming  the  "  savannahs"  into  fertile  fields, 
and  the  shell  roads  built  through  hitherto  inacces- 
sible marshes.  Before  he  left  the  city  Maybury  was 
a  convert  to  the  plan  of  using  convict  labor  on  such 
works,  instead  of  fastening  the  law-breakers  in  cells 
where  their  products  compete  with  those  of  honest 
men  outside.  He  visited  also  the  beautiful  cemetery 
in  the  outskirts,  where  the  moss-laden  trees  shade  a 
peculiarly  beautiful  spot  in  which  to  deposit  the 
remains  of  loved  friends. 

It  was  January  when  he  reached  Jacksonville, 
going  to  the  St.  James  without  hesitation,  so  wide- 
spread is  the  reputation  of  that  house  as  one  of  the 
best  in  the  entire  South.  Here  he  stayed  three 
weeks,  meeting  many  pleasant  people,  among  them 
a  lady  from  Boston  and  two  from  Indiana,  one  of  the 
latter  having  with  her  the  prettiest  child  he  had  ever 
seen.  With  none  of  these  ladies  did  Maybury  get 
up  a  flirtation,  for  he  was  not  in  the  flirting  mood, 
but  he  walked  the  long  piazzas  in  the  company  of 
the  youngest,  and  went  to  several  theatrical  per- 
formances that  came  to  town.  Finally,  the  stories 
of  the  wonderful  Indian  River  country  began  to 
impress  him  and  he  undertook  the  disagreeable 
journey. 

Had  Christian,  in   order   to  reach   the  Celestial 


FLORIDA    Iff 

City,  been  compelled  to  undergo  the  trials  of  a  trip 

to  Lake  Worth  at  the  period  of  which  I  write,  it  is 
doubtful  if  he  would  ever  have  persisted  in  his 
endeavors.  A  train  brought  the  young  New  Yorker 
to  Titusville  late  in  the  evening.  The  few  apologies 
for  hotels  were  crowded  with  guests — there  must 
have  been  as  many  as  fifteen  strangers  in  the  town. 
Thinking  he  could  get  a  bed  on  the  steamer  that  was 
billed  to  leave  at  an  early  hour  the  next  morning, 
Maybury  walked  along  a  suspicious-looking  way  to 
the  wharf,  where  he  found  that  the  boat  had  not 
yet  made  her  appearance  from  down  the  river. 
When  was  she  likely  to  come  ?  No  one  knew.  Was 
there  any  place  to  sleep  in,  within  a  mile  ?  The 
company's  agent  did  not  know  of  any. 

It  was  now  half-past  eleven  o'clock,  and  the 
traveler  felt  a  chill  in  the  air  that  he  had  not 
expected  in  that  latitude.  In  the  steamboat  office 
several  women,  with  their  babies  and  husbands,  were 
huddled  around  a  dirty  looking  stove.  The  hard- 
ship of  spending  the  night  in  a  similar  manner  was 
not  a  serious  one  to  a  man  who  had  slept  out  of 
doors  in  Africa,  on  the  way  from  Tangier  to  Fez,  in 
the  midst  of  pouring  rains.  But  there  was  a  ridic- 
ulousness about  it,  in  a  land  presumably  civilized, 
which  did  not  amuse  him.  The  stove  got  so  warm 
after  awhile  that  he  preferred  the  outer  air,  and  he 
went  to  stroll  along  a  plank-way  that  led  back  to 
what  he  supposed  called  itself  a  town. 

The  air  grew  chillier.  A  railroad  employe",  see- 
ing the  well-dressed  man  out  at  that  hour,  informed 
him  that  a  private  house,  about  a  hundred  rods  away, 
sometimes  "  put  folks  up."  This  house,  when  it  was 
found,  proved  to  be  also  "  full,"  as  far  as  the  b*d- 


198  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

rooms  were  concerned,  but  the  proprietor  (who  was 
wandering,  ghost-like,  around  the  premises)  offered 
the  use  of  a  sofa  in  the  parlor,  which  Douglass  was 
now  too  tired  and  cold  to  decline.  In  the  morning, 
when  the  steamboat  came — several  hours  late — it 
was  discovered  that  she  had  eight  state-rooms  for 
about  sixty  passengers.  These  had  all  been  engaged 
in  advance  by  telegraph. 

Not  relishing  the  idea  of  going  two  nights  more 
without  a  place  of  normal  rest,  the  voyager  left  the 
boat  at  Rockledge,  and  was  afterwards  glad  he  did 
so.  He  found  one  of  the  prettiest  spots  he  had  ever 
seen  and  a  vegetation  thoroughly  tropical,  combined 
with  a  modern  hotel  whose  accommodations  were 
satisfactory  in  all  respects.  By  the  time  the  next 
steamer  arrived  he  had  done  the  "  telegraph  act  " 
himself,  and  had  the  pleasure  of  sharing  a  room  eight 
feet  by  five  with  a  physician  from  Nebraska,  who 
proved  to  be  equal  to  several  ordinary  individuals  in 
capacity  for  entertaining  his  companion. 

The  descent — or  possibly  it  is  the  ascent — of  the 
Indian  River  is  a  journey  not  to  be  despised.  I  learn 
that  the  means  of  travel  have  been  improved  since 
the  date  of  which  I  am  writing,  and  are  to  be  still 
more  improved  in  the  near  future.  But  Douglass 
Maybury  was  sure  that,  had  the  steamer  been  even 
worse  than  it  was — a  hypothesis  not  easily  conceiva- 
ble— and  had  he  been  obliged  to  share  the  "  easy  " 
chairs  and  sections  of  cabin  floor  on  which  most  of 
the  passengers  had  to  sleep,  he  would  have  found 
the  trip  worth  taking. 

The  currentless  river,  broadening  often  into  a 
lagoon,  the  strange  trees  encroaching  on  the  waters, 
preparing  the  way  for  land  at  some  future  date;  the 


FLORIDA    IX    WINTER.  £&t 

panns  and  palmettoes  ;  the  pineapple  groves  and 
orange  plantations;  the  tropical  birds;  the  odd  land- 
ings, sometimes  half  a  mile  from  shore,  made  of 
piling,  to  which  passengers  and  freight  are  ferried  in 
skiffs;  with  the  hundred  and  one  other  sights  to 
which  the  American  of  the  North  is  wholly  unfamil- 
iar, delighted  him.  He  felt  as  if  sailing  on  some 
mystic  stream,  at  the  end  of  which  Paradise  must 
surely  be  found. 

And  he  was  nearly  right  in  this  conception  of  the 
Indian  River.  When  one  reaches  Jupiter  and  has 
the  pleasure  of  seeing — nay,  or  passing  through — 
Juno,  Mars  and  Venus  within  ten  hours,  why  should 
it  astonish  him  when  he  finds  just  beyond  them  a 
truly  Delectable  Land,  compared  to  which  the 
Canaan  of  the  Jews  was  a  very  poor  affair  ? 

The  Cocoanut  Groves  of  Lake  Worth  are  in  a 
prettier  piece  of  tropical  landscape  than  can  be 
found  anywhere  else  in  all  the  Southern  States. 
Truly  the  wind  blew  good  to  thousands  which  cast 
that  shipload  of  cocoanuts  upon  this  coast.  Capt. 
Dimick  and  his  assistants  proved  themselves  wise 
men  when  they  planted  these  nuts  for  miles  along  a 
shore  till  then  insufficiently  shaded,  and  no  one 
should  grudge  that  benefactor  of  his  race  whatever 
fortune  has  come  to  him  from  his  hostelrie,  suitably 
named  the  Cocoanut  Grove  House. 

Maybury  wanted  to  see  a  little  of  St.  Augustine 
early  in  the  season  there,  and  was  obliged  to  quit 
Lake  Worth  much  sooner  than  he  would  have  wished. 
He  was  something  of  a  hunter  and  fisherman,  and  it 
galled  him  to  desert  such  a  sportsman's  paradise, 
where  panther  was  to  be  had  for  five  miles  of  tramp, 
not  to  mention  deer  and  wildfowl  innumerable ; 


130  TOUKO   MISS  GIDDY. 

where  tarpon  bit,  on  the  other  side  the  Inlet,  as  ha 
had  never  known  them  to  bite  in  any  other  waters. 
The  almanac,  however,  was  inexorable,  and  he  had 
to  depart,  with  a  mental  oath  to  return  at  no  distant 
day,  prepared  for  a  longer  stay. 

The  river  was  no  less  impressive  on  the  northern 
trip,  and  even  the  twelve  hours  of  daylight  that  the 
boat  stuck  on  an  oyster  bar  was  not  without  its 
enjoyment.  With  a  night's  rest  at  Rockledge,  our 
traveler  proceeded  to  Ormond,  Orlando,  Winter 
Park,  Ocala,  and  several  other  places,  making  brief 
stops ;  and  then  he  went  to  that  marvel,  Silver 
Spring. 

Writers  of  advertisements  of  famous  resorts  are 
apt  to  exhaust  the  language  in  depicting  their  attrac- 
tions. It  would  require  more  than  an  ordinary  pen 
to  do  justice  to  Silver  Spring  and  the  Oklawaha 
River.  Those  who  make  the  journey  to  Florida 
without  boarding  the  little  steamer  that  runs  from 
the  Spring  to  Palatka,  have  left  the  finest  dish  on  the 
menu  untasted.  The  moment  the  boat  swings  from 
its  moorings  the  voyager  finds  himself  apparently 
suspended  in  midair,  with  a  marvelous  atmosphere 
of  light  blue  above  and  below  him.  So  clear  is  the 
Spring  that  the  sensation  of  floating  in  water  gives 
way  to  that  of  hanging  in  the  ether,  as  if  the  steamer 
were  a  balloon.  Then,  as  the  prow  of  the  Okee- 
humkee  points  toward  the  river,  a  new  astonishment 
begins  and  never  ceases  till  the  end  of  the  journey  is 
reached  on  the  following  morning. 

Ten  minutes  after  the  boat  starts,  the  world,  as  we 
have  known  it,  disappears.  The  stream,  hardly 
wide  enough  at  points  to  allow  the  up  boat  to  pass 
the  down  one,  wanders  with  a.  thousand  curves 


IS    WINTEB.  181 

through  the  densest  of  cypress  groves,  whose  tall 
tops  almost  shut  the  sky  from  view  and  whose 
exposed  roots  take  on  innumerable  fantastic  shapes. 
This  jungle,  as  impressive  if  not  as  dense  as  those  of 
Brazil,  the  mocassin  snake  shares  with  the  alligator. 
Both  of  them  may  be  seen  sunning  themselves  on  the 
broken  trunks  of  trees,  and  slipping  off  for  more 
secure  hiding  as  the  paddle-wheel  disturbs  their 
seclusion.  Strange  birds  fill  the  air  overhead,  and 
every  fish  below  is  outlined  as  clearly  as  through  the 
glass  walls  of  an  aquarium.  The  captain,  as  jolly  a 
fellow  as  ever  managed  a  craft,  tells  you  how  he 
once  shot  two  deer,  contrary  to  the  orders  of  his 
company,  and  against  the  statutes  of  Florida,  which 
made  that  time  of  year  a  close  season,  because  his 
sportsmanlike  instinct  would  not  let  the  animals 
cross  his  gunwale.  He  says  he  paid  the  fine  with- 
out a  murmur,  and  thought  the  adventure  worth  the 
money. 

Lovely  as  is  the  daylight  trip,  the  full  splendors 
of  the  Oklawaha  come  out  only  at  night.  When  the 
last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  have  disappeared  a  fire  it 
lighted  in  an  iron  crate  on  top  of  the  pilot-house. 
The  blaze  illumines  the  surrounding  forest,  throws 
a  red  glare  across  the  sky,  and  colors  in  exquisite 
hues  the  morasses  on  every  side.  The  "  plang-plung  " 
of  the  wheel  in  the  water,  the  cries  of  disturbed 
birds  and  animals,  the  calls  of  the  pilot  and  the 
deck-hands  break  the  impressive  stillness  of  the 
wild  woods.  Turning  sometimes  almost  at  a  right 
angle  in  her  course,  as  the  boat  follows  the  tortuous 
current,  new  scenes  are  constantly  coming  into 
view.  He  must  be  a  dull  voyager  who  retires  before 
midnight,  and  those  who  remain  on  the  d«ck  till 


181  TOUNe  MISS  COODT. 

morning  brings  them  out  of  the  narrow  stream  «po« 
the  broad  bosom  of  the  St.  John,  and  to  the  town  of 
Palatka,  are  richly  repaid. 

It  was  now  February  and  the  Ponce  de  Leon  at 
St.  Augustine  was  open.  When  Maybury  reached 
the  town  he  was  obliged  to  admit  that  nothing  so 
unique  had  escaped  the  tooth  of  time  in  the  New 
World.  The  old  quarters  are  no  less  Spanish  than 
parts  of  Cadiz  or  Cordova.  Viewing  the  overhang- 
ing balconies,  the  strange  doorways,  the  ancient 
fort,  the  city  gate  and  the  narrow  streets,  he  thought 
he  must  have  been  transported  in  a  dream  to  the 
land  of  the  Cid.  Besides  these,  the  modern  palaces 
which  Mr.  Flagler's  millions  have  erected  outshine 
anything  in  Barcelona,  where  the  richest  families  of 
Iberia  have  of  late  erected  a  "  little  Paris  "  after 
Spanish  models. 

It  was  the  purpose  of  Mr.  Maybury  to  stay  in  St. 
Augustine  until  near  the  end  of  the  month,  at  which 
time  he  "mtended  to  go  to  New  Orleans  and  see 
Mardi  Gras,  but  a  paragraph  in  the  Jacksonville 
Times-Union  put  an  end  to  this  plan.  A  few  lines  in 
the  "Society  Gossip  "  informed  him  that  among  the 
guests  soon  expected  at  the  Ponce  were  Hon.  Augus- 
tus Scarlett,  Miss  Flora  May  Scarlett,  Mr.  David 
Bayley  and  servants. 

The  Senator  never  cared  much  for  Congress,  and 
his  absence  from  Washington  when  that  body  was 
in  session  did  not  surprise  Mr.  Maybury.  Still,  he 
wondered  whether  his  own  presence  in  Florida  had 
anything  to  do  with  the  proposed  visit  of  this  party. 
At  all  events  he  did  not  wish  to  see  them,  and  the 
next  morning  he  was  ready  to  start  toward  Lou- 


•OTNG   TO   VARPI   OWA6.  IBS 

The  mail  clerk  of  the  Ponce  was  a  young  man 
whom  Douglass  had  knewn  fora  long  time, he  being 
connected  during  the  summer  with  one  of  the  Adi- 
rondack houses.  To  him  he  confided  his  new  address, 
conjuring  him  by  all  that  was  holy  not  to  divulge  it 
to  any  person  under  any  condition  whatever. 

On  his  way  he  visited  Pensacola  and  Mobile,  and 
three  days  later  he  was  in  the  Crescent  City. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

GOING    TO    MARDI    GRAS. 

Why  were  the  Scarletts  coming  to  St.  Augustine  ? 
They  were  coming  because  Mr.  David  Bayley 
believed  it  the  most  suitable  place  for  them,  under 
the  circumstances. 

Not  being  able  to  learn  anything  of  the  intentions 
of  Mr.  Douglass  Maybury,  except  that  he  had  gone 
to  the  land  of  flowers,  Mr.  Bayley  thought  it  wise  to 
look  more  particularly  into  the  reasons  that  had 
taken  him  thither,  and  to  as-certain  as  far  as  he  could 
what  his  intentions  were  for  the  immediate  ifuture. 
The  letter  that  the  Senator  had  received  was  cer- 
tainly not  assuring.  If  Maybury  left  the  country  at 
this  time  it  might  never  be  possible  to  lure  him 
back.  Having  started  out  to  marry  his  friend  to  the 
daughter  of  his  employer,  it  was  not  like  the  Archi- 
tect to  falter  before  his  work  was  done,  or  until  he 
had  proved  that  there  was  no  way  under  Heaven  to 
accomplish  it. 


184  TOUNO    MT9»  QIDPY. 

It  seemed  to  Mr.  Bayley  that  the  best  thing  was  a 
^uiet  trip  to  St.  Augustine  ;  an  "  accidental  "  meet- 
ing of  all  parties  in  the  romantic  recesses  of  the 
Ponce  de  Leon  ;  a  chorus  of  "  Why,  are  you  here  .' 
This  is  the  last  place  in  the  world  I  expected  to  meet 
you  !"  and  things  of  that  kind. 

Dr.  Parton,  who  was  called  in,  gave  a  hint  to 
Miss  Scarlett  that  a  more  congenial  climate  than 
that  of  New  York  would  be  greatly  to  her  benefit  in 
the  months  of  February  and  March.  Flora  was  not 
looking  as  well  as  usual,  and  the  physician  could 
give  this  advice  with  a  clear  conscience.  But  the 
girl  demurred  a  little  when  the  journey  was  proposed 
to  her. 

"  I  know  I  am  not  quite  as  well  as  I  ought  to  be," 
she  said  to  her  father,  that  evening,  at  table.  "  But 
I  have  a  strong  suspicion  that  your  real  reason  for 
taking  me  to  Florida  is  the  expectation  that  we  shall 
see  Mr.  Maybury  there." 

The  couple  were  alone  in  the  dining-room,  Charles 
being  absent  on  one  of  his  philanthropic  excursions, 
and  the  servants  having  a  general  order  to  present 
themselves  only  at  the  sound  of  the  bell. 

"  I  will  not  deny,"  replied  the  Senator,  "  that  I 
should  like  to  have  you  meet  again.  Nothing  is 
more  natural  than  for  people  to  be  in  Florida  at  this 
season." 

Miss  Flora  toyed  with  the  sugar  tongs,  in  a  medi- 
tative attitude. 

"I  think  I  have  told  you,  papa,"  she  said,  "that  if 
1  ever  should  become  engaged  to  Mr.  Maybury,  I 
should  want  the  wedding  postponed  a  long  time." 

"  You  cannot  desire  that  any  more  than  I,  my 
dear,"  he  answered.  "  I  am  sure  it  is  also  Mr.  May- 


GOING   TO  MAKDI   0RA8.  185 

bury's  wish — that  is — that  he,  while  contemplating 
matrimony  as  a  final  goal,  prefers  to  preserve  his 
liberty  for  the  present.  I  can  leave  it  to  you  to 
maintain  your  dignity,  so  that  whatever  happens  we 
shall  not  appear  to  be  seeking  him  ;  but  if  you  could 
relax  a  trifle  of  your  stiffness,  and  if  he  should  gain 
the  courage  to  ask  for  a  promise — " 

The  girl  bowed,  as  if  she  understood  the  rest  of 
the  sentence  thus  left  unfinished. 

"  Do  you  think  Mr.  Maybury  lacks  courage  ?"  she 
asked,  thoughtfully. 

"  Most  men  suffer  a  little  in  that  respect  when  it 
comes  to  a  proposal  of  marriage,"  replied  the  fath«r, 
uneasily. 

"  He  has  not  been  in  the  habit  of  devoting  much 
time  to  ladies,  has  he  ?" 

It  was  well  that  the  girl  was  occupied  in  stirring 
the  lumps  of  sugar  into  her  black  coffee  ;  otherwise 
she  must  have  read  something  strange  in  the  expres- 
sion that  came  into  Mr.  Scarlett's  face.  He  felt  the 
need  of  falsehood  while  discussing  such  a  man  of  the 
world  as  Maybury  with  so  guileless  a  child  as  this. 

"  I  have  never  heard  of  his  paying  much  attention 
to  any  one  in  society,"  he  said.  "  He  has  lived  a 
purely  bachelor  life,  going  out  less  than  most  of  his 
set." 

For  several  minutes  the  girl  seemed  lost  in  dreams. 

"I  do  not  think  he  would  make  a  very  ardent 
lover,"  she  said,  finally,  in  a  voice  that  showed  the 
effect  of  the  reverie. 

Mr.  Scarlett  thought  of  Mrs.  Lareve  and  Carrie 
Ten  Brok,  and  doubted  if  this  description  of  the 
young  rake  would  fit  their  idea  of  him. 

11  He  would  have  a  proper  sense  of  his  duties,  J 


1W  Toraa  uzss  GIDDT. 

am  sure,**  he  replied.  **  Mr.  Maybury  is,  above  all,  a 
gentleman." 

The  girl  looked  into  vacancy,  as  if  conjuring  up 
some  image. 

"  I  should  want  a  great  deal  of  liberty,  if  I  were 
married,"  she  said.  "  I  could  not  bear  a  husband  like 
Mrs.  Mothing's  for  instance,  who  acts  before  every  one 
as  if  she  might  escape  into  the  air  if  he  took  his  eyes 
from  her  one  moment.  I  cannot  see  why  marriage 
should  destroy  the  individuality,  the  right  to  be  her- 
self, that  ought  to  be  sacred  to  every  woman.  If  I 
had  a  husband  who  tried  to  be  my  master,  I  could 
not  live  with  him  long.  It  must  be  an  equal  partner- 
ship, otherwise  the  wife  is  little  better  than  a  slave." 

The  father  looked  at  the  speaker  with  distended 
eyes.  She  had  surprised  him  several  times  of  late 
with  her  erudite  utterances,  but  he  was  more  than 
astounded  to  hear  such  elaborate  views  on  the  mar- 
riage relation  from  those  lips.  She  must  have  been 
reading  a  lecture  by  Susan  B.  Anthony,  or  attending 
a  woman's  rights  convention.  If  she  had  been  more 
intimate  with  her  brother,  he  might  have  supposed 
that  Charles  had  imparted  these  thoughts  to  her. 

"Mr.  Maybury  is  not  a  man  who  would  demand 
anything  unreasonable  of  you,"  he  said,  after  a 
pause. 

"  I  shall  tell  him  frankly  what  I  think  about  it,  if 
it  ever  becomes  necessary,"  said  Miss  Scarlett,  with 
positiveness.  *'  There  are  promises  he  must  make 
me  before  I  will  agree  to  take  him — for  life." 

She  hesitated  before  uttering  the  final  words,  as  if 
there  was  something  repugnant  in  them. 

*' You  will  not  make  your  demand  sound  disagree- 
able, I  trust/'  insinuated  the  father,  gently. 


TO  MAEDI  «RA&  IS? 

*No,  indeed  !"  replied  Flora,  looking  up  with  a 
laugh.  "  I  won't  scare  him  away.  But  it  looks 
very  doubtful,  papa,  at  this  moment,  whether  I  shall 
ever  have  the  chance.  There  is  no  certainty  that  we 
shall  see  him  in  Florida  ;  and  if  he  crosses  the  ocean 
it  may  be  years  before  we  meet  again." 

The  Senator  had  run  home  from  Washington  for 
the  express  purpose  of  having  this  talk  with  Flora. 
He  was  relieved  to  find  her  so  tractable. 

St.  Augustine  lost  its  charms  for  the  New  York 
contingent  when  they  found  that  Mr.  Maybury  had 
already  gone  away.  The  clerk  at  the  Ponce,  torn 
with  doubts  as  to  which  was  his  best  course  between 
the  opposing  interests,  professed  for  a  number  of 
days  to  have  no  idea  of  the  whereabouts  of  the 
much-wanted  man.  The  astute  Architect,  however, 
was  soon  in  possession  of  the  facts.  Mr.  Maybury 
would  have  certainly  a  good  deal  of  mail  to  be  for- 
warded. Watching  quietly  one  day  till  the  colored 
boy  took  the  letters  to  the  post-office,  Bayley  made 
a  sufficient  excuse  to  intercept  him.  He  pretended 
that  he  had  sent  a  note  which  he  wished  to  see 
again,  to  make  sure  the  address  was  correct,  and  a 
moment  later  had  found  several  with  this  super- 
scription : 

"  Douglass  Maybury,  Esq.,  No.  —  Charles  street,  New 
Orleans,  La." 

The  word  "  Ponce  de  Leon,  St.  Augustine,"  had 
been  erased  and  the  new  address  was  in  the  writing 
of  the  mailing-clerk. 

All    was    perfectly  clear   now.      It   was  getting 


138  YOUNG  MI88   OlDDT. 

toward  the  season  of  Mardi  Gras,  and  Maybury  had 
concluded  to  witness  the  festivities. 

Putting  a  dollar  in  the  hand  of  the  black  boy,  Mr. 
Bayley  returned  to  Mr.  Scarlett. 

"  I  have  found  him,"  he  said,  in  reply  to  the 
anxious  look  on  the  Senator's  face. 

"  He  is  here  ?" 

"  No,  but  he  is  within  a  short  ride,  and  where  he 
will  probably  remain  several  weeks." 

Then  he  told  what  he  had  learned,  throwing  a  veil 
of  mystery  over  the  manner  of  discovery.  And  Mr. 
Scarlett  looked  upon  the  Architect  as  a  veritable 
Lecoq,  a  fellow  to  whom  all  secrets  were  open,  one 
whom  it  would  be  quite  useless  to  attempt  to  deceive, 
no  matter  how  deeply  the  plot  was  laid. 

When  Flora  was  told  that  Mr.  Maybury  had  gone 
to  the  Crescent  City  she  looked  thoughtful. 

"  It  looks  as  if  he  had  found  out  we  were  coming," 
she  said,  to  her  father.  "  It  that  were  true,  we 
could  not,  with  a  due  sense  of  pride,  enter  on  any- 
thing like  a  pursuit  of  him,  could  we  ?" 

"  You  take  it  too  seriously,"  replied  Mr.  Scarlett. 
"  It  is  unlikely  that  any  such  information  could  have 
reached  him.  New  Orleans  offers  great  attractions 
during  carnival  week.  It  would  not  strike  him  as 
remarkable  that  we  should  go  to  a  celebration  that 
attracts  visitors  from  all  over  the  United  States.  I 
will  have  Bayley  telegraph  at  once  for  accommoda- 
tions, and  as  soon  as  he  receives  an  answer  we  will 
start." 

The  girl  could  find  no  fault  with  this  reasoning, 
but  she  did  not  look  happy.  Instead  of  feeling 
better  in  the  Southern  climate,  she  was  not  as  well 
as  when  she  left  home.  She  had  acquired  a  sort  of 


OOWO    70   MABDC   GRAB.  339 

bluish  paleness  not  natural  to  her,  and  her  appetite 
had  sunk  to  a  low  point.  She  looked  at  the  sights 
of  the  town  with  little  interest,  and  occupied  most 
of  her  time  in  reading  letters  or  writing  them. 
These  missives  she  always  took  to  the  post-office  her- 
self, accompanied  by  her  maid  or  Madame  Saccard. 

The  loungers  about  the  hotel,  and  the  visitors  to 
St.  Augustine  in  general,  knew  that  the  handsome 
girl  was  the  daughter  of  a  United  States  Senator, 
and  heiress  to  many  millions.  Several  ambitious 
young  gentlemen  did  their  best  to  secure  introduc- 
tions, but  without  avail.  It  seemed  outrageous  to 
them  that  so  much  beauty  and  wealth  should  be  go- 
ing "begging,"  as  it  was  popularly  said  to  be.  But 
between  this  slight  creature  and  their  hopes  there 
was  a  wall  as  strong  as  if  made  of  steel,  a  barrier  as 
inaccessible  as  though  hedged  with  cacti.  And  one 
bright  evening  a  carriage  took  her  to  the  station, 
and  the  fortune-hunters  were  left  to  console  them- 
selves as  best  they  could. 

Mr.  David  Bayley  was  a  shrewd  dog.  He  feared 
if  Maybury  learned  that  this  family  was  in  New 
Orleans  it  might  hasten  his  departure,  or  make  it 
more  difficult  to  get  into  communication  with  him. 
He  knew  it  was  the  custom  of  almost  everybody 
who  is  anybody  to  go  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel.  This 
they  do,  not  because  the  St.  Charles  is  a  remarkably 
good  hotel,  but  because  it  is  the  best  there  is.  If 
you  should  go  to  New  Orleans  and  hear  that  one  of 
your  friends  was  in  the  city,  you  would  naturally 
inspect  the  register  of  the  St.  Charles.  When  you 
found  that  his  name  was  not  recorded  there,  you 
would  feel  pretty  certain  that  he  had  not  arrived. 

With  this  fact  in  view,  Mr.  Bayley  had  not  tele- 


140  YOUHG   M18S   GIDDY. 

graphed  to  the  St.  Charles  for  accommodations,  but 
to  the  Royal.  The  Royal  has  the  distinction  of 
being  a  poorer  house  than  the  St.  Charles,  but  in 
Carnival  times  people  have  been  known  to  get 
rooms  there.  It  is  a  thoroughly  respectable  hotel, 
big  enough  for  a  State  Capitol,  which  indeed  it  was 
at  one  time,  and  travelers  are  usually  told  in  advance 
that  there  are  several  very  good  restaurants  in  other 
streets. 

The  rooms  which  Mr.  Bayley  engaged  by  telegraph 
were  large  and  comfortable.  When  he  took  posses- 
sion with  his  fellow  voyagers  he  did  not  sign  their 
names  on  the  register.  The  entry  was  made  by  Mr. 
Scarlett's  valet,  in  this  form  :  "  R.  A.  Arnold  and 
party;"  which  was  unlikely  to  mean  much  to 
anyone  who  might  read  it  in  the  papers  the  next 
morning. 

Within  an  hour  after  the  Architect  arrived,  he 
had  ascertained  that  Mr.  Maybury  was  still  at  the 
address  on  Charles  street,  a  house  where  private 
lodgings  were  let  to  the  "  better  "  class  of  people. 
More  than  this,  he  learned  that  Douglass  had 
engaged  his  rooms  until  after  the  close  of  the  Carni- 
val. The  young  man  had  brought  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  several  of  the  most  prominent  citizens, 
including  the  editors  of  the  leading  newspapers. 
He  was  enjoying  himself  apparently  and  evidently 
oblivious  of  the  fact  that  interested  persons  were 
laying  a  trap  in  which  to  enmesh  his  feet. 

"  I  can  get  tickets  to  every  event  of  special  note," 
announced  the  Senator  to  his  daughter  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  "  and  you  shall  see  all  there  is  to  be  seen. 
One  of  my  colleagues  has  come  home  for  the  cele- 
bration and  has  extended  every  courtesy.  I  have  told 


•YOU'LL  SEE  NOTHING  BUT  'CHAM.'*       141 

him  that  we  are  incog.,  so  he  will  act  accordingly. 
When  the  chief  events  occur,  we  will  have  Mr.  May- 
bury  here  tendering  you  his  escort  to  them." 

This  was  said  with  the  hope  of  arousing  the  droop, 
ing  spirits  of  the  young  lady,  but  she  only  replied  by 
a  faint  smile. 

If  she  had  not  hesitated  to  wound  her  father,  she 
would  have  told  him  then  that  she  doubted  if  she 
was  destined  to  be  a  wife  ;  that  it  grew  upon  her 
strongly  that  Fate  did  not  intend  her  for  a  married 
woman. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
"YOU'LL  SEE  NOTHING  BUT  'CHAM.'" 

Douglass  Maybury  had  a  very  good  time  in  New 
Orleans.  If  there  is  any  place  in  America  where  a 
man  can  have  a  better  time,  provided  he  is  armed 
with  letters  of  introduction  to  the  right  people,  I 
•hould  like  to  know  where  it  is.  There  is  no  other 
city  where  the  masculine  population  to  whom  you 
are  presented  takes  more  pains  to  make  your  stay 
agreeable ;  none  in  which  the  feminine  part  goes 
farther  toward  making  you  believe  they  are  your 
long-lost  sisters  and  cousins.  People  who  have 
been  to  New  Orleans  and  come  away  without  grow- 
ing inordinately  fond  of  the  place  are  to  be  pitied  for 
the  opportunities  they  have  missed. 

The  first  gentleman  to  whom  Maybury  presented 
his  card  of  introduction  said  in  the  most  matter  of 
(act  way  that  he  must,  of  course,  send  his  trunk  to 


142  Yomro  MISS  GIDDY. 

his  (the  gentleman's)  house  and  remain  there  during 
the  entire  time  he  was  in  the  city.  This  invitation, 
declined  with  difficulty,  was  supplemented  by  at 
least  a  dozen  others  of  a  similar  purport  from  subse- 
quent acquaintances. 

And  the  wives  of  each  of  these  gentlemen  were,  if 
possible,  even  more  hospitable  than  their  husbands. 
At  the  few  dinners  out  which  he  accepted  these 
ladies  enlarged  on  the  uncomfortableness  of  the 
hotels  in  Carnival  time  and  proffered  their  best 
apartments  to  the  stranger.  Mr.  Maybury  held  to 
his  purpose  of  retaining  his  hired  room,  though 
it  was  something  of  a  struggle  ;  but  he  passed  a 
good  deal  of  his  time  with  these  new  friends, 
whom  he  seemed,  after  a  few  hours,  to  have  known 
for  at  least  a  year. 

The  Crescent  City  is  full  of  club-houses.  To  nearly 
all  of  these  a  twenty  days'  card  was  sent  the  young 
Northerner  as  soon  as  it  was  known  he  had  arrived. 
A  desire  to  assist  him  to  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
all  the  drinks  that  are  fashionable  in  that  locality 
seemed  universal  among  the  club  members.  Men 
who  kept  carriages  took  him  for  drives.  Those  who 
had  none  went  on  long  walks  with  him.  Divining 
that  the  French  Quarter  would  interest  him  specially, 
he  was  taken  there  about  once  a  day,  and  the  his- 
toric spots  were  pointed  out. 

He  was  escorted  up  the  river  and  down  the  river. 
He  went  out  to  Lake  Ponchartrain  and  through  the 
old  and  new  cemeteries,  so  different  from  anything 
he  had  ever  seen  in  this  country.  He  was  intro- 
duced to  everybody  by  a  title  which  made  him  less 
ill  at  ease  because  it  consorted  so  well  with  those  of 
most  of  his  entertainers.  But  sometimes,  when  he  was 


*TOU?IX  SEE   UOTHlflG  BUT      CHUt."*  143 

addressed  suddenly  as  "Colonel,"  he  gave  a  slight 
start  and  was  for  an  instant  disconcerted. 

If  the  men  of  New  Orleans  were  agreeable,  what 
should  he  say  of  the  women  ?  With  something  in 
their  manners  that  made  him  think  of  the  best 
French  society,  and  yet  with  the  true  American 
instinct  dominating  all,  they  possessed  a  wonderful 
charm.  There  were  lovely  faces  about  the  tables  at 
which  he  dined,  and  the  conversation  proved  the 
owners  as  intelligent  as  beautiful.  Had  Mr.  Maybury 
been  susceptible  to  the  tender  passion — in  the  ordin- 
ary sense — he  might  have  yielded  his  heart  on  that 
brief  visit  to  some  sweet  maiden  of  the  Creole  race. 

However,  the  young  man  had  no  idea  of  marriage 
at  present,  and  these  were  not  the  kind  to  listen  to 
empty  flatteries,  still  less  to  questionable  small-talk. 
With  all  his  faults — altogether  too  numerous — he 
knew  a  real  lady  from  the  giddy  creature  who  apes  her 
manners  while  possessing  none  of  her  attributes.  In 
the  drawing-rooms  which  he  visited  he  passed  for 
the  most  thorough  type  of  gentleman.  People  spoke 
of  him  to  each  other  as  "  the  kind  of  man  one  likes 
to  meet." 

Could  these  favored  women  have  followed  him 
after  midnight  on  his  other  strolls,  perhaps  their 
sentiments  might  have  been  altered  ;  but  of  even 
that  what  man  can  be  sure  ?  Who  knows  but  the 
long  rows  of  houses,  the  almost  entire  sections,  on 
the  other  side  of  Canal  street,  where  their  more 
unhappy  sisters  begin  the  night  about  the  time  these 
others  end  it,  are  taken  into  account  by  those  bright 
beings,  and  the  rendezvous  of  their  male  friends 
discounted  in  advance,  if  not  forgiven  ? 

If  there  is  any  place  on  earth  (and  of  course  there 


144  TOUNO  KISS  GIDDT. 

is  not)  where  the  sons  of  Adam  might  plead  an  tr- 
cuse  for  setting  aside  that  Commandment  which 
Protestants  number  seven,  it  is  within  a  stone's  throw 
of  the  great  shopping  centre  in  that  same  City  of 
the  Crescent.  Here  are  collected  "soiled  doves" 
with  plumage  so  nearly  white  that  only  the  surround- 
ings make  it  possible  to  believe  the  truth.  Whence 
come  they — these  faces  that  might  serve  as  models 
of  Innocence,  these  forms  of  which  no  chisel  even 
wrought  the  equal  from  the  marble  of  Carrara? 
Surely  it  has  required  a  seminary  education  to  fur- 
nish minds  that  can  follow  one  into  any  field  of  con- 
versation ;  surely  it  has  taken  masters  in  music  to 
train  those  hands  and  voices  to  give  forth  such 
melody  ! 

They  are  not  from  the  lower  ranks,  these  sirens. 
Even  when  the  champagne  fills  their  heads  no 
uncouth  or  indelicate  word  escapes  their  bewitching 
mouths.  They  are  dressed  with  taste  and  propriety, 
few  coteries  could  produce  their  equals  in  beauty 
and  grace.  And  yet — they  are  here  ! 

Douglass  Maybury  let  no  sight  of  this  kind  escape 
him  in  the  travels  he  made.  He  told  a  friend,  after- 
wards, that  nowhere  on  either  side  of  the  ocean  had 
he  found  so  much  to  wonder  at  as  in  those  houses, 
divided  from  the  rest  of  that  city  by  a  line  as  dis- 
tinct (though  invisible)  as  if  it  were  a  veritable 
Chinese  Wall. 

He  was  not  a  man  who  moralized  a  great  deal. 
He  did  not  care  to  trace  the  lives  of  these  girls  back 
to  their  once  pure  childhood  and  ascertain  how  they 
made  this  descent.  He  could  have  guessed,  per- 
haps, that  the  first  steps  were  as  slow  as  the  later 
ones  were  rapid.  The  way  through  which  such 


"TOUtL  BBS  NOTHING  BUT  *OHAM.*W  145 

women  passed  was  tolerably  familiar  to  him.  He 
had  read  the  lines  of  Byron,  and  no  man  knew 
better  of  what  he  wrote  : 


"  In  her  first  passion  woman  loyes  her 
But  after  that  all  that  she  loves  is  love." 

But,  to  return  to  the  outer  air.  Maybwry  went 
with  happy  parties  to  the  great  balls  given  by  the 
city's  elite  and  he  watched  also  from  convenient 
balconies  the  glittering  processions  in  which  the 
participants  outdo  their  rivals  of  the  Mediterranean 
coast.  It  is  always  an  exhilarating  sight  to  witness 
thousands  of  people  in  commotion.  The  gayly- 
caparisoned  steeds,  the  gaudily-decked  barges,  the 
brightly-garbed  actors  of  the  mythical  parts,  the 
showers  of  confetti,  the  banners,  the  music,  all  com- 
bined to  make  an  exhibition  not  easily  forgotten. 

So  far  Maybury  had  heard  nothing  of  his  pursuers. 
But  at  the  grand  ball  that  closed  these  festivities  for 
the  more  reputable  of  the  Crescent  Cityites,  our 
traveller  was  startled  by  seeing,  across  the  French 
Opera  House,  the  familiar  face  of  Flora  Scarlett ! 

For  a  few  moments  he  sat  quite  still,  watching 
furtively  to  discover  whether  she  appeared  to  notice 
him.  There  was  nothing  to  indicate  that  she  did, 
and  the  suspicion  that  he  was  being  followed  left 
him  with  a  kind  of  shame  that  he  should  have  har- 
bored such  a  thought.  Miss  Scarlett  was  not  ac- 
companied by  her  father,  nor  by  any  person  whom 
Maybury  recognized  ;  she  was  surrounded  by  a 
group  of  people  whom  he  had  never  seen  as  far  as 
he  could  remember.  They  were  pointing  out  the 
masquers  to  her,  guessing,  as  were  the  others,  at  their 


146  TOUNO   MIS8    QLDDY. 

identity,  and  she  was  smiling  back  with  an  air  that 
was  polite  if  not  thoroughly  engrossed  in  what  they 
were  saying.  She  was  paler  than  usual  and  to  the 
eyes  of  the  on-looker  was  not  as  well  as  she  had 
been. 

Curiosity  as  to  how  she  happened  to  be  in  New 
Orleans,  and  as  to  whether  her  father  had  come 
with  her,  began  to  prey  on  the  watcher.  The  girl 
certainly  presented  a  very  attractive  picture,  in  the 
full  evening  dress  which  she  wore.  Her  gown  was 
entirely  of  white,  and  her  fair,  round  shoulders  had 
nothing  whatever  to  protect  them  but  a  boa  of  white 
fur,  pushed  back  on  account  of  the  heat  of  the  thea- 
tre. There  was  not  even  a  diamond  or  a  pearl  visi- 
ble, and  the  beauty  of  the  heiress  shone  effulgent 
without  anything  to  add  to  its  natural  charms. 

"  Do  you  see  that  handsome  girl  over  there,  Mr. 
Maybury  ?"  asked  a  voice  at  his  elbow.  "  My  friend 
says  she  is  the  daughter  of  a  Western  Senator,  who  is 
worth  millions." 

It  was  a  Northern  girl  who  made  the  remark,  Miss 
Mansfield  of  Indianapolis,  who  was  visiting  relations 
in  the  city. 

"  I  am  acquainted  with  her,"  said  Maybury,  quietly. 
"  I  was  just  thinking  whether  I  ought  to  go  and  pre- 
sent myself." 

"  Are  you  !" 

Miss  Mansfield  made  this  exclamation  with  the 
unconcealed  envy  that  so  many  people  show  for 
those  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Great  of  this 
world.  She  wondered  how  well  Mr.  Maybury  knew 
Miss  Scarlett,  and  if  he  would  offer  to  present  her  to 
that  young  lady. 


SEE  NOTHING   BUT   r  OH  AM.'"  147 

"Yes,"  said  Douglass,  presently,  as  if  thinking 
aloud,  "  I  ought  to  go  over  and  speak  to  her." 

The  spectators  between  the  young  man  and  the 
aisle  moved  to  give  him  room,  while  the  whisper 
passed  around  that  he  knew  the  daughter  of  a  silver 
and  railroad  King — that  handsome  girl  on  the  other 
side  of  the  circle.  Quite  oblivious  of  the  commotion 
his  actions  were  exciting,  Maybury  made  his  way 
slowly  through  the  crowd,  for  even  standing  room 
was  filled,  to  where  Miss  Scarlett  sat.  The  chair  she 
occupied  was  an  end  one,  so  that  it  was  not  hard  to 
reach  her,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  had  leaned  over 
her  shoulder  and  spoken  her  name. 

"  Why,  Mr.  Maybury  !" 

The  fact  that  she  was  the  Senator's  daughter  was 
now  known  to  most  of  the  people  in  the  house  and 
nearly  every  eye  was  turned  as  she  rose  to  greet  the 
new-comer.  Although  she  had  recognized  Maybury 
long  before  he  did  her,  and  had  realized  that  he  was 
coming  in  her  direction,  she  simulated  surprise  very 
well,  without  overdoing  the  matter. 

The  gentleman  who  sat  next  to  Miss  Scarlett  rose 
and  proffered  Mr.  Maybury  his  seat. 

"Take  it  for  the  present,"  he  urged,  when  the 
invitation  was  declined  with  politeness.  "  I  wish  to 
go  to  another  part  of  the  house  for  a  short  time." 

Miss  Scarlett  joined  her  voice  in  this  request,  and 
as  she  made  room  by  changing  to  the  other  seat, 
Douglass  could  do  no  less  than  take  the  chair  thus 
vacated. 

In  a  moment  the  young  rouple  were  chatting  like 
old  friends.  The  girl  did  everything  to  put  his  at 
his  ease,  and  there  was  nothing  to  indicate  to  th« 


148  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

onlooker*  that  she  had  ever  given  him  an  instant 
of  uneasiness. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  in  New  Orleans  ?"  she 
asked. 

"Nearly  a  fortnight.  I  have  long  wanted  to  see 
the  Carnival,  in  order  to  compare  it  with  the  similar 
sports  of  Italy  and  other  parts  of  Europe.  When 
did  you  arrive  ?  The  Senator  is  with  you,  I  pre- 
sume ?" 

Yes,  she  told  him,  her  father  was  with  her.  Then 
she  incidentally  mentioned  that  she  was  not  quite 
well,  and  that  the  doctor  had  recommended  the 
trip, 

"I  hope  it  is  nothing  serious,"  he  said. 

**No,  I  think  not,"  she  replied,  with  a  little  laugh. 
"  I  don't  seem  to  have  any  strength,  and  I  cannot 
bear  the  least  cold.  However,  I  think  home  is  the 
best  place  for  me,  and  I  am  trying  to  persuade  them 
to  take  me  back." 

He  felt  easier  when  he  heard  this,  and  his  face 
grew  redder. 

"  Probably  your  illness  is  only  temporary  ;  at  least 
we  must  hope  so,"  said  he.  "  A  great  point  in  ali 
such  cases,  I  believe,  is  faith  and  courage." 

She  laughed  that  strange  little  laugh  again. 

"  Let's  not  talk  about  it,"  she  said.  ••  Tell  me  of 
your  travels  instead.  You  have  been  gone  from 
home  a  long  time,  and  must  have  seen  much." 

Both  had  forgotten  the  spectacle  on  the  stage,  and 
the  hundreds  of  people  who  were  looking  in  their 
direction  began  to  speculate  whether  there  could  be 
anything  "  understood  "  between  them. 

Maybury  told  her  of  some  of  the  things  he  had 
seen,  dwelling  especially  on  the  loveliness  of  Lake 


"TOU'LL  SEE  NOTHING  BUT  'CHAM.'"       149 

Worth  and  the  Indian  River  country.  When  he 
alluded  to  St.  Augustine  his  companion  stopped  him 
by  an  interruption. 

"  Why,  we  have  just  come  from  there  !  The  town 
is  pretty,  but  I  found  it  rather  dull.  Things  are  not 
very  gay  when  one  is  trying  to  play  the  invalid." 

"  Of  course  you  have  an  escort  here,"  Douglass 
said,  a  little  later,  when  there  occurred  a  pause  in 
the  conversation. 

"  Not  exactly,"  replied  the  girl,  with  a  slight  flush. 
"  I  wanted  to  be  free,  so  I  only  brought  papa's  valet 
and  my  maid.  I  think,  if  you  will  be  kind  enough 
to  assist  me  to  the  door,  I  will  let  Arnold  get  the 
carriage.  It  is  early,  to  be  sure,  but  I  shall  be  bet- 
ter off  at  the  hotel,  I  am  afraid." 

A  glance  at  the  young  lady's  face  showed  that  she 
had  grown  paler  even  since  he  had  been  sitting  with 
her.  He  made  no  excuse  for  delay,  but  took  her 
on  his  arm  and  escorted  her  to  the  neighborhood  of 
a  dressing-room,  into  which  she  went  to  find  Margot. 
During  the  little  promenade  the  slight  figure  of  the 
Senator's  daughter  was  very  near  to  that  of  Mr. 
Maybury.  Her  bare  arm  pressed  heavily  upon  his. 
Her  head  drooped  toward  his  shoulder.  She  evi- 
dently needed  the  assistance  he  was  giving  her. 

What  little  things  affect  our  entire  future  lives  ! 
Maybury  could  never  feel  in  reference  to  Flora 
Scarlett  as  he  had  felt  before,  after  that  brief  walk 
from  her  seat  to  the  door  of  that  dressing-room. 

The  young  man  waited  patiently  for  at  least  ten 
minutes  till  the  girl  re-appeared,  in  company  with 
her  maid  ;  then,  for  a  minute  longer,  while  Margot 
found  Arnold,  and  another  minute  while  Arnold  took 
bis  check  and  got  his  hat  and  coat.  When  these 


150  TOUNO   MISS   OIDDT. 

things  were  accomplished  he  escorted  Miss  Scarlett 
to  the  door  of  her  carriage  and  saw  her  enter  it. 

"Tell  your  father,"  he  said,  "that  I  should  like  to 
see  him  to-morrow.  I  am  at  No.  —  Charles  street, 
in  private  lodgings." 

She  roused  herself  from  the  half-recumbent  posi- 
tion she  had  assumed. 

"  I  am  very  thoughtless,"  she  replied.  •*  We  are  at 
the  Royal.  You  must  certainly  come  to  see  us — to 
see  papa — there.  And  a  friend  of  yours  is  there  also, 
Mr.  Bayley.  They  will  never  forgive  you  if  you  do 
not  call." 

When  she  was  driven  away  Maybury  found  that 
he  was  in  a  perspiration.  He  walked  slowly  toward 
Canal  street,  ignoring  the  proffers  of  several  cabmen 
to  take  him  there. 

"  Pshaw  !"  he  exclaimed  aloud,  when  he  had  gone 
three  hundred  yards.  "  Pshaw  !  What  feeling  is  this 
that  has  come  over  me  ?" 

Going  into  one  of  the  clubs,  he  sat  down  to  wait 
the  coming  of  Major  Dilbach,  who  had  agreed  to  go 
with  him  later  in  the  night  to  an  annual  dance  given 
by  some  "  Weil-Known  Gentlemen,"  whose  identity 
no  one  was  supposed  to  suspect.  This  ball  was 
understood  to  be  in  the  most  striking  contrast  to 
the  one  he  had  just  left.  No  woman  laying  any 
claim  to  virtue,  Major  Dilbach  had  said,  would  be 
allowed  in  the  hall.  It  was  to  be  an  imitation,  so 
far  as  the  climate  and  racial  peculiarities  permitted, 
of  the  affairs  in  the  Casino  de  Paris  and  the  Moulin 
Rouge. 

The  Major  was  not  due  for  some  time,  as  the  ball 
to  be  attended  would  not  reach  its  most  enticing 
stage  until  after  one  o'clock  A.  M.  Maybury  turevf 


A   GUUPSE    Of     iJAAIBL'BG.  151 

himself  into  the  depths  of  an  easy-chair  and  relapsed 
into  a  reverie  that  was  undisturbed  till  the  advent 
of  his  friend. 

"  Hope  I  haven't  kept  you  waiting,"  said  the  jolly 
Major.  "  The  ball's  only  ten  minutes  walk  from 
here.  Let's  have  a  drink  before  we  go,  just  for  a 
bracer.  You'll  see  nothing  but  'cfn*m'  when  you 
get  among  the  girls." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

GLIMPSE   OF   HAMBURG. 

The  man  who  drinks  has  one  questionable  advan- 
tage over  his  teetotal  neighbor  ;  he  can  throw  off 
temporarily  those  sad  and  thoughtful  moods  that 
come  to  most  men.  For  an  hour  before  Major  Dil- 
bach  arrived,  Douglass  Maybury  had  been  in  a 
decided  fit  of  the  "  dumps."  His  brief  conversation 
with  Flora  Scarlett,  followed  by  that  walk  to  the 
carriage  with  her  leaning  on  his  arm,  had  unsettled 
the  very  comfortable  frame  of  mind  in  which  he  had 
been  ever  since  his  advent  to  the  Crescent  City.  He 
did  not  know  exactly  what  ailed  him,  but  he  was  far 
from  happy  ;  and  to  be  in  any  other  state  but  that 
of  positive  joy  on  the  night  of  Mardi  Gras,  and  in 
New  Orleans,  is  of  all  things  in  the  world  the  most 
undesirable. 

He  had  not  been  five  minutes  in  the  ball-room  of 
the  "Well-Known  Gentlemen,"  however,  before  he 
had  relieved  the  pressure  on  his  mind  and  regained 


158  Tororo  MISS  GIDDY. 

his  accustomed  spirits.  Dilbach  introduced  him  to 
several  of  the  gayest  people  there,  and  a  prompt 
adjournment  to  the  wine-room  was  immediately  in 
order. 

If  the  floor  of  the  hall  was  a  scene  of  gayety,  what 
words  shall  describe  the  ante-room  where  the  wine 
was  served  ?  The  fairest  flowers  from  the  region 
beyond  Canal  street  were  there  in  full  force.  From 
those  handsome  faces  masks  were  in  most  cases  ab- 
sent. The  full  dress,  which  society  permits  and 
encourages  even  at  more  select  assemblies,  revealed 
dazzlingly-white  busts  and  shoulders  that  might  have 
tempted  good  St.  Anthony,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
ordinary  modern  sinner.  Eyes  radiant  before  grew 
brighter  from  the  effects  of  costly  liquids  which  flowed 
as  freely  as  lager  at  a  German  banquet.  Dozens 
of  men  in  dress  suits  sat  at  tables  with  these  fairies, 
buying  whatever  they  chose  to  drink,  repaid  by  their 
companionship  and  conversation  and  the  prospect  of 
a  whirl  in  the  waltz  or  polka.  Above  the  noise  of  the 
loud  talking  in  which  everybody  indulged  could  be 
heard  the  constant  popping  of  corks. 

"  It's  only  once  a  year,  you  know,"  said  his  new 
friend  to  May  bury.  "  The  thing  to  do  is  to  make 
the  most  of  it." 

Yes,  it  was  evident  that  was  the  thing  to  do.  A 
moment  later,  Madge  Farwell,  the  handsomest  girl 
in  the  party,  recognized  Maybury  and  called  him  to 
her  side.  The  fact  that  another  gentleman  had  just 
opened  his  third  bottle  of  wine  for  her,  had  no  effect 
on  the  beauty.  She  deliberately  turned  her  back  on 
him  while  she  gave  her  sweetest  smile  to  the  North- 
erner, inquiring  why  he  had  not  been  to  see  her  lev 


A   GLIMPSE   OF    HAMBURG.  153 

a  week  in  spite  of  his  positive  promise  the  last  time 
he  called. 

Such  was  the  good  nature  that  prevailed  in  this 
assemblage  that  the  discarded  suitor  rose  and  with 
a  pleasant"  Good-evening"  took  his  leave  of  the 
couple,  going  to  another  part  of  the  room  and  order- 
ing another  bottle  for  the  first  girl  who  would  allow 
him  that  privilege  ;  while  Maybury,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  he  had  just  drank  and  that  Madge 
had  a  full  glass  in  front  of  her,  made  frantic  appeals 
to  a  waiter  who  was  passing  to  bring  him  another 
bottle  with  the  very  least  delay. 

In  the  midst  of  the  young  man's  explanations  of 
the  cause  of  his  neglect,  the  music  for  a  waltz  was 
heard,  and  a  moment  later  he  was  on  the  floor  of  the 
ball-room,  whirling  his  fair  companion  to  the  nimble 
strains.  As  she  held  up  her  long  trail  with  one 
hand  and  rested  the  other  on  her  partner's  shoulder, 
Miss  Farwell  presented  a  picture  entrancing  to  any 
eye  that  could  forget,  for  the  nonce,  the  moral  side 
of  it.  Her  large  orbs  were  dilated  with  the  cham- 
pagne she  had  taken,  and  her  cheeks  were  flushed. 
Maybury  was  obliged  to  clasp  her  very  close  in  order 
to  keep  her  to  the  exact  time,  and  her  breath,  touch- 
ing him  on  the  neck  like  a  zephyr  from  the  Spice 
Islands,  came  and  went  with  rather  more  than  the 
usual  rapidity. 

It  would  not  be  fair  to  say  that  Madge  was  intox- 
icated. She  spoke  with  perfect  intelligibility.  She 
knew  what  was  said  to  her.  Her  manners  never  left 
her  for  a  second.  And  when  the  dance  was  ended 
she  walked  with  no  staggering  step — indeed,  with 
extraordinary  straightness — back  to  the  wine-room 
with  her  escort,  and  began  without  delay  to  consume 


154  YOITICG  MISS  GIDDT. 

the  vintage  of  France  as  if  she  had  not  tasted  a  drop 
during  the  evening. 

Some  of  the  wealthier  of  the  young  men  present 
came  over  to  speak  to  Miss  Farwell  from  time  to 
time,  and  soon  she  had  agreed  to  give  the  next 
figure — a  quadrille — to  Col.  Kimston,  a  cotton 
planter  from  up  the  river.  Almost  as  curtly  as  she 
had  cut  his  predecessor  Madge  turned  from  May- 
bury  to  the  new  favorite,  and  our  traveller  found 
himself  locked  arm-in-arm  with  Major  Dilbach,  prom- 
enading the  ball-room. 

There  were  now  a  great  number  of  dancers  pres- 
ent, perhaps  two  hundred  of  them  being  women. 
Of  these  fully  half  had  visors  over  their  eyes,  or  wore 
complete  masks,  making  it  impossible  to  distinguish 
even  familiar  countenances.  As  he  was  passing  up 
the  hall,  Douglass  heard  his  name  spoken  in  a  low 
key. 

"Ah,"  he  exclaimed,  "  here  is  some  one  who  seems 
to  know  me  !" 

The  girl  who  had  accosted  him  was  in  the  ordinary 
street  dress,  with  nothing  to  distinguish  her  from 
the  others,  and  her  mask  completely  puzzled  the 
young  New-Yorker.  The  Major  promptly  took  him- 
self out  of  the  way. 

"  I  can't  recognize  you,  I  am  forced  to  admit," 
confessed  Douglass,  after  a  few  words  of  conversa- 
tion. 

The  girl  laughed,  guardedly,  as  if  she  did  not  wish 
her  voice  to  betray  her,  and  then,  at  his  request,  she 
took  his  arm  and  they  began  a  promenade. 

"  You  don't  deny  that  you  are  Douglass  May* 
bury  ?"  said  the  incognita. 


A  OLIferfiE  OF   HAMBT7BO.  155 

**  Certainly  not.  As  I  have  no  mask  It  would  be 
useless.  Tell  me,  before  I  die  of  curiosity,  where  we 
have  met  before," 

She  answered  that  he  ought  to  guess. 

"  That's  not  easy,"  he  retorted.  "  I  hav£  been  to 
so  many  places  since  I  came  to  New  Orleans,  and 
met  so  many  people.  Was  it — on  C Street  f* 

She  shook  her  head  decidedly. 

"  I  am  afraid  that  guess  is  not  complimentary," 
she  replied. 

He  felt  a  little  shiver  running  down  his  spine. 
Suppose  she  was  not  one  of  the  class  he  had  assumed, 
he  had  put  his  foot  in  it  nicely,  had  he  not?  But, 
on  the  other  hand,  there  was  not  much  danger.  It 
was  incredible  that  a  real  lady  should  be  at  a  ball  of 
that  description  unattended. 

"  So  you  do  not  admire  C street,"  he  said. 

"  And  yet  I  hear  that  some  of  the  most  charming 
girls  in  the  city  are  to  be  found  in  that  locality." 

44  You  have  not  seen  me  there,  at  least,"  she  an- 
swered haughtily. 

Puzzle  his  brain  as  he  might  he  could  not  connect 
her  appearance  with  anything  in  his  memory.  When 
the  music  began  again  he  danced  with  her,  and  noted 
that  she  lacked  something  of  the  grace  of  his  late 
partner,  the  fair  Miss  Farwell.  She  moved  like  one 
not  used  to  the  steps,  or  at  least  not  long  familiar 
with  them.  When  the  next  quadrille  attracted  all 
the  spectators  to  the  exhibition  of  lingerie,  this  girl 
gave  him  a  new  view  of  her  character. 

"  I  do  not  care  to  see  that,"  she  said,  as  he  began 
to  push  toward  the  centre. 

Upon  the  visible  mouth  there  was  a  perceptible 
sneer,  and  he  fancied  that  the  invisible  eyes  flashed 


156  YOUHG   MI8S  «HBDT. 

with  scorn.  He  was  disappointed,  for  Tike  a  true 
lover  of  Paris  he  was  inordinately  fond  of  the  can- 
can, and  disliked  to  miss  a  single  kick  even  of  the 
feeble  imitation  that  was  presented  here.  His  com- 
panion and  himself  were  almost  the  only  persons 
that  had  not  pressed  toward  the  place  where  several 
of  the  more  daring  dancers  were  already  elevating 
skirts  and  displaying  hosiery.  The  loud  shouts  of 
approval  from  men  and  women  alike,  made  him 
utter  an  audible  sigh  before  he  was  aware  that  it 
was  upon  his  lips. 

"  Don't  let  me  keep  you  from  going,*'  said  the 
incognita,  in  a  voice  that  seemed  frank  enough.  "  I 
will  wait  here  for  you." 

The  delighted  screams  of  the  crowd  were  too  much 
for  the  gallantry  of  Maybury,  and  saying  that  he 
would  be  gone  but  a  minute,  he  hastened  to  the 
scene.  The  performance  that  met  his  eyes  need  not 
be  described  to  any  one  who  has  attended  an  Arion 
or  Cercle  de  1'Harmonie  ball  in  New  York.  It  was 
the  kind  of  dance  which — when  executed  with  full 
spirit — has  upon  the  baser  passions  of  men  the  same 
effect  that  alcohol  has  upon  the  brain — setting  the 
pulses  on  fire  and  driving  the  beholder  almost  to 
madness.  The  onlookers,  both  male  and  female, 
shouted  their  approval,  urging  the  dancers  to  in- 
creased license,  but  they  had  already  gone  as  far  as 
even  the  liberty  accorded  once  a  year  at  this  place 
would  permit.  The  music  of  the  quadrille  ended  in 
a  burst  of  applause,  as  the  last  vision  of  Hamburg 
edging  and  point  lace  disappeared  from  view. 

"  How  does  that  please  you,  Mr.  Maybury  ?"  asked 
a  woman's  voice  at  his  elbow,  and  Douglass,  intoxi- 
cated by  something  stronger  than  wine,  turned  to 


A   GLIMPSE    OF   HAMBURG.  157 

behold  another  masker,  whose  identity  was  as  well 
concealed  as  the  first  one.  Looking  toward  the 
point  where  he  had  left  Mask  No.  i,  he  saw  that 
she  was  still  there.  For  an  instant  he  had  thought 
it  a  trick  in  costume,  and  that  he  was  being  deceived 
by  the  same  person  in  another  dress. 

'*  I  am  very  well,  thank  you,"  was  his  response. 
"  Now,  will  you  tell  me  your  name,  or  where  I  have 
met  you,  as  I  must  confess  my  entire  ignorance  of 
both." 

The  half-hidden  eyes  seemed  to  pierce  him. 

"  It  does  not  matter,"  said  their  owner,  in  a  voice 
that  was  evidently  disguised.  "  The  fact  that  I  know 
you  is  proved  by  my  knowledge  of  your  name. 
Mine  is  of  little  consequence.  Will  you  answer  the 
question  which  I  first  addressed  to  you.  How  did 
you  like  that  dance  ?" 

He  was  ill  at  ease  in  the  presence  of  this  double 
mystery.  Both  of  these  girls  might  be  merely  the 
ordinary  people  met  at  such  places,  in  spite  of  the 
professed  modesty  of  the  first  one.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  might  be  of  an  entirely  different  grade  of 
society,  and  have  come  here,  secure  in  their  hidden 
identities,  to  spy  upon  the  doings  of  the  nether 
world. 

"  The  dance  speaks  for  itself,"  he  replied,  evasively. 
"  But  pardon  me  for  saying  that  I  am  obliged  to 
return  to  a  lady  whom  I  promised  to  desert  for  only 
a  moment.  I  trust  you  will  remain  in  the  hall  till  I 
can  have  another  opportunity  to  solve  the  mystery 
that  surrounds  you.  Are  you  here  alone  ?" 

"  No,  indeed  !"  was  the  slightly  indignant  reply. 
"  But  there  is  no  need  of  your  leaving  me  so  abruptly. 


15S  TOI7NG   MISS   GIDDY. 

I  shall  be  very  glad  to  be  presented  to  your  lady 
friend." 

Maybury  stood  for  some  seconds  in  doubt. 

"  I  do  not  know  her  any  better  than  I  do  you,"  he 
replied,  at  last.  "  If  she  is  not  afraid  of  your  discov- 
ering her  secret,  I  shall  be  only  too  glad  to  introduce 
you.  If  you  will  excuse  me  a  moment  I  will  ascer- 
tain." 

Bowing  politely,  the  young  man  went  toward  the 
first  masker. 

"  I  want  the  privilege  of  introducing  you  to  another 
acquaintance  of  mine,"  he  said,  with  a  laugh. 

"  That  lady  you  were  speaking  with  ?" 

"  The  same.*' 

"  Who  is  she  ?" 

The  young  man  laughed  again. 

"  She  has  puzzled  me  as  much  as  you  have,"  said 
he.  "  She  came  and  called  me  by  name,  and  for  the 
life  of  me  I  can't  find  a  single  thing  to  recognize  in 
her  figure  or  tones.  When  I  told  her  I  had  another 
engagement,  she  said  she  would  like  to  meet  you." 

Mask  No.  i  reflected  a  little,  and  finally  said  she 
saw  no  objection,  if  what  Mr.  Maybury  had  said  was 
strictly  true. 

He  assured  her  that  all  was  as  represented.  And 
a  minute  later  he  presented  the  women  to  each  other 
under  the  titles  which  I  have  given  them. 

"  Mask  No.  2,  permit  me  to  present  you  to  Mask 
No.  i." 

The  natural  thing  was  a  procession  to  the  wine- 
room,  where  Mask  No.  2  proved  herself  an  adept  at 
champagne  drinking.  Mask  No.  i,  on  the  contrary, 
did  no  more  than  sip  the  contents  of  her  glass.  Mask 
No.  *  did  most  of  the  talking  on  the  feminine  side, 


A  OLIMPSB  or  HAHBtTBa.  1*0 

the  other  one  hardly  more  than  responding  with  a 
yes  or  no. 

44  That's  a  pretty  girl  !"  was  the  exclamation  of 
Mask  No.  2,  as  Madge  Farwell  swept  by,  on  her  way 
back  to  the  dancing-floor.  "  I  heard  a  gentleman 
say,  a  few  minutes  ago,  that  she  was  one  of  the  best 
known  women  of  the  half-world.  Do  you  know  her, 
Mr.  Maybury  ?" 

The  query  was  too  pointed  to  evade,  and  Mr. 
Maybury  responded  that  he  knew  Miss  Farwell 
slightly,  and  had  danced  with  her  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  night. 

"How  well  do  you  know  her?"  asked  Mask 
No.  2. 

Douglass  reddened  like  a  rose.  The  insinuation, 
coming  in  such  a  way,  and  from  such  a  source,  dis- 
concerted him. 

"  I  have  only  called  at  her  residence  with  othei 
men  and  drank  wine  in  the  parlor,"  he  said,  in  con« 
fusion. 

"I  suppose  you  have  often  been  to  places  like 
that  ?"  said  Mask  No.  2,  without  pausing. 

"  It  is  the  right  of  an  accused  person  to  refuse  to 
criminate  himself." 

Mask  No.  2  shook  her  head  impatiently. 

"  Don't  be  foolish,"  she  said.  "  I  am  not  a  detective. 
You  need  not  answer  if  you  don't  wish.  Of  course, 
you  have  been  to  plenty  of  them.  Do  you  think 
the  women  who  inhabit  them  lead  happy  lives  ?" 

Though  surprised  beyond  measure  Mr.  Maybury 
found  voice  to  reply  that  he  did  not  believe,  on  the 
whole,  the  Jives  of  such  women  were  happy. 

•'  J  do,"  said  Mask  No.  a.    "  They  are  loved  !" 

A  coterie  of   women   swept  by  at  the   moment 


160  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

laughing  merrily.  Each  had  an  escort,  some  of  them 
two. 

"  What  do  you  thiriK  about  it  ?"  asked  Maybury, 
turning  to  the  nearly  silent  figure  at  his  right. 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  "  they  must  be  miserable 
when  the  dance  is  over  and  the  lover  gone.** 

The  voice  had  a  tremble  in  it  quite  distinct  to  the 
listening  ear  of  the  young  man. 

"You  forget," replied  the  second  mask.  "There 
will  be  another  dance  and  another  lover." 

The  second  masker  was  looking  wistfully  after  the 
dancers  whose  lot  she  rated  so  highly.  Presently 
the  quadrille  music  was  heard  again,  that  tantaliz- 
ing strain  which  sent  the  crowd  to  the  centre  of  the 
hall  every  \irne  it  was  played. 

"Come,  we  must  not  miss  that  1"  cried  Mask  No. 
2,  rising. 

But  the  other  mask  held  back  again.  In  this 
dilemma  Maybury  hardly  knew  what  to  do.  If 
either  of  the  maskers  interested  him  most  it  was  the 
on«  who  would  not  see  the  can-can  ;  and  yet  he 
Wanted  very  much  to  see  it  himself. 

"  You  can  find  me  again  !"  exclaimed  Mask  No.  2f 
breaking  from  them. 

She  pushed  to  the  front  of  the  peering  crowd,  as 
if  she  could  not  bear  to  miss  the  choreographic 
display  in  progress.  Two  maskers,  who  had  come 
to  the  hall  with  her,  pressed  close  to  her  side.  May- 
bury,  excusing  himself  again  from  his  partner,  sought 
as  close  a  place  to  them  as  the  density  of  the  crowd 
permitted. 

"This  is  n't  half  a  can-can  !"  cried  one  of  the  spec- 
tators, contemptuously.  "  In  Paris  they  wouldn't 
think  anything  of  such  a  poor  exhibition  !" 


A  GLIMPSE   OF   HAMBURG.  161 

The  girl  who  has  been  called  Mask  No.  2  turned 
and  whispered  something  to  the  woman  at  her  side. 

"  No,  no  !  You  should  not  think  of  it !"  was  the 
woman's  reply. 

The  girl  put  her  hand  heavily  on  the  shoulder  of 
her  other  companion. 

"It'll  be  all  right,  won't  it?"  she  said,  in  tones 
that  were  almost  pleading. 

"  Why  not  ?"  he  answered.  "  You've  got  a  mask 
on.  No  one  knows  you." 

Those  who  stood  nearest  gathered  from  these 
remarks  which,  though  uttered  in  low  voices,  were 
heard  by  many,  that  the  masker  contemplated  giving 
a  dance  on  her  own  account.  Shouts  rent  the  air 
that  now  there  would  be  something  worth  seeing, 
and  handkerchiefs  were  waved  to  the  orchestra  in 
the  gallery  to  send  out  its  very  liveliest  music. 

Into  the  center  of  the  ring  formed  for  her,  sprang 
Mask  No.  2  and  began  her  pas  seul.  The  most 
depraved  of  the  spectators  had  no  reason  to  find 
fault.  The  man  who  had  been  in  Paris  declared 
afterwards  that  it  left  nothing  to  be  desired.  Used 
as  Douglass  Maybury  was  to  scenes  of  this  sort,  his 
face  was  the  color  of  a  peony  when  the  music's  end 
closed  the  exhibit. 

"  Did  that  suit  you  ?"  asked  the  masker,  breath- 
lessly, coming  up  to  him  and  speaking  with  her  lips 
almost  touching  his  own. 

*'  It  was  perfect  !"  he  replied,  gazing  with  swim- 
mingeyes  into  the  apertures  in  the  mask  where  her 
eyes  were  nearly  hidden. 

"  Some  day,"  she  said,  as  if  with  a  depth  of  mean- 
ing, "  I  may  dance  that  for  you  again  !" 


168  YOUNG   HISS   GIDDY. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

"HOT  ON  THE  MORNING  AFTER.' 

Mr.  Maybury  would  have  detained  the  speaker  for 
further  explanations,  but  she  had  taken  the  arm  of 
her  escort  and  was  moving  toward  the  exit  that  led 
to  the  street.  For  a  moment  he  stood  where  she 
left  him,  confused  with  the  events  of  the  last  ten 
minutes.  He  had  drunk  a  good  deal  of  champagne, 
and  his  head  might  have  been  clearer.  He  was  not 
intoxicated,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word  ;  but 
his  senses  were  slightly  dulled.  He  felt  sure  as  he 
saw  the  retreating  form  of  Mask  No.  2  that  he  had 
heard  her  voice  before,  somewhere  outside  of  that 
hall,  in  a  time  past  which  he  could  not  distinctly 
recall.  The  girl  had  neglected  in  those  closing 
words  to  assume  the  artificial  tones  she  used  during 
the  first  part  of  the  night.  Her  more  natural  key 
had  awakened  memories  of  something  he  could  not 
locate. 

It  is  seldom  easy  to  discover  an  identity  hidden 
behind  a  ball-room  mask.  The  tones  of  an  intimate 
friend  lose  their  familiarity  when  the  well-known 
face  is  concealed.  Maybury  had  heard  this  voice 
before,  and  that  was  all  he  could  say  positively.  As 
he  watched  the  doorway  from  which  she  had  van- 
ished, it  seemed  to  him  that  were  it  not  for  the  alco- 
bol  in  his  brain  he  would  be  able  to  remember. 

Recovering  himself,  the  young  man  was  about  to 
go  to  the  part  of  the  hall  where  Mask  No.  i  awaited 
kin,  according  co  agreement,  when  Maj.  Dilbach 


*»<»  ON  THB  MORKING   AFTER."  165 

came  up  and  slapped  him  boisterously  on  the  shoul- 
der. 

"  Gad  !  what  a  dance  your  friend  gave  us  !"  he 
exclaimed.  "  I  never  saw  anything  to  equal  it,  not 
even  that  winter  I  spent  in  France,  five  years  ago. 
And  here's  something  I  picked  up  when  she  had  left 
the  floor,  that  I  think  she  would  like  to  recover." 

He  held  up  to  the  gaze  of  his  astonished  compan- 
ion a  combination  of  silk  elastic,  of  a  blue  shade, 
gold  clasps  and  a  handsome  jewelled  setting. 

"Give it  to  me,"  said  Maybury,  with  vivid  interest 
"It  would  be  a  shame  to  keep  a  thing  like  that, 
which  might  get  a  lady  into  trouble." 

He  reached  out  his  hand  for  it,  but  the  Major 
hesitated. 

"You  know  her,  then?"  he  asked,  as  if  in  doubt. 

"Certainly,"  replied  his  friend,  with  unblushing 
mendacity.  "  I  am  to  meet  her  to-morrow.  That's 
a  good  fellow,"  he  added,  as  Dilbach  handed  him 
the  article.  "She  will  owe  you  her  warmest  thanks." 

The  Major  had  no  sooner  given  up  his  trophy 
than  he  experienced  an  inward  regret  at  having 
done  so. 

"I  say,"  he  suggested,  "she  must  be  a  terror.  Is 
she  a  society  girl,  with  a  dance  like  that?" 

"  Recollect,"  replied  Maybury,  with  an  attempt  to 
be  very  serious,  "  that  she  had  her  mask  on.  That 
lady  is  as  virtuous  as  Florence  Nightingale,  in  spite 
of  her  insane  freak.  She  doesn't  think  I  penetrated 
her  disguise,  and  I  don't  know  as  I  shall  tell  her. 
However,  she  shall  have  this  thing  back,  and  that 
will  ease  her  fears." 

Dilbach  took  these  statements  for  Gospel  truth, 
and  having  the  article  in  his  possession  Douglass 


164  YOUNG  MISS   GIDDY. 

did  not  see  why  he  should  waste  more  words  on 
him.  Beside,  he  must  find  Mask  No.  i.  He  could 
not  remember  exactly  where  he  had  left  her,  as  the 
(our  sides  of  the  room  were  so  alike,  and  he  nearly 
made  the  complete  circuit  before  he  found  her. 
J  *'  Are  you  ready  to  go  ?"  he  asked,  looking  down 
at  the  girl,  who  seemed  more  impassive  than  ever. 

"I  have  been  ready  for  some  time,"  she  replied. 
"  If  you  will  get  your  things,  we  will  leave  at  once." 

Confused  by  the  recent  occurrences  Maybury 
might  have  forgotten  his  hat,  which  he  had  left  in 
the  checking-room,  unless  thus  reminded.  In  his 
absence  his  companion  donned  a  thick  veil  which  as 
completely  hid  her  features  as  the  mask  she  removed. 
When  he  returned  she  took  his  arm  and  accom- 
panied him  to  the  street  door.  Here  it  was  found 
impossible  to  get  a  carriage  for  love  or  money,  unless 
previously  engaged.  After  her  escort  had  exhausted 
his  temper  in  fruitless  efforts  to  find  one  that  would 
take  them,  the  girl  remarked  quietly  that  she  would 
prefer  to  walk  rather  than  endure  further  delay. 

"It  is  a  beautiful  morning,"  she  said,  looking  at 
the  bright  sky. 

And,  indeed,  it  was.  Where  else  in  all  America^ 
are  there  more  beautiful  mornings  in  the  early  days 
of  March  ?  The  breeze  blew  salubriously  from 
Ponchartrain.  The  sun's  rays  were  tempered  by  the 
fleecy  clouds  which  hung  like  celestial  parasols  across 
the  horizon.  The  very  roadways  exhaled  odors  that 
inspired  and  uplifted  the  pedestrians.  It  is  a  pecu- 
liarity of  the  climate  of  New  Orleans  that  even  the 
not  over-clean  streets  lose  their  miasmic  effect  by 
that  wonderful  chemistry  of  nature  which  turns 
the  phosphate  of  the  gardener  into  pinks  and  roses. 


"WOT  ON   THE    MORNING    ^FTER,"  165 

What  would  breed  a  pestilence  in  New  York  or 
Boston  loses  its  harmfulness  in  this  municipality, 
lying  below  the  level  of  the  giant  river  which  sweeps 
by  its  portals.  Statistics  show  that  there  are  few 
cities  in  the  world  where  the  death  rate  is  so  low  as 
in  New  Orleans. 

"  It  is  a  pity  to  walk,"  said  Maybury,  convinced 
nevertheless  that  this  was  the  best  way  out  of  the 
dHemma,  provided  she  had  not  too  far  to  go.  "At 
What  hotel  are  you  staying?" 

When  the  girl  answered  "  The  Royal,"  he  started 
as  violently  as  if  she  had  stabbed  him  with  a  knife. 

'*  The  Royal !"  he  echoed,  stopping  short  on  the 
sidewalk. 

"  Yes.  It  is  not  more  than  ten  minutes'  walk  from 
here." 

Maybury  drew  her  arm  again  within  his  own  and 
set  out  at  a  rapid  pace  in  the  direction  of  the  hotel 
named.  The  liquor  that  had  affected  his  brain  was 
cleared  away  by  those  two  words  of  hers,  and  he  felt 
a  shame  and  distress  such  as  he  had  never  known 
before. 

"  The  Royal  1" 

There  is  something  about  excessive  drinking  that 
Inclines  one  to  be  maudlin  in  his  regrets  and  repent- 
ences.  To  Douglass  Maybury  those  words  brought 
a  vision  of  the  fair  daughter  of  Senator  Scarlett,  as 
her  rounded  arm  rested  on  his  sleeve  in  the  French 
Opera  House,  only  a  few  short  hours  before.  The 
contrast  between  the  innocence  of  that  creature  and 
the  scenes  to  which  he  had  gone  immediately  on 
leaving  her,  was  as  the  distances  between  the  poles. 
Flora  Scarlett  liked  him  ;  he  knew  that  by  intuition, 
as  well  as  by  the  confidences  of  David  Bayley.  A 


166  YOBBO  MI86   GUXNT 


marriage  between  them  had  been  considered  as 
among  the  possibilities.  Just  before  going  to  the  ball 
given  by  the  "Well-Known  Gentlemen,"  he  had 
given  himself  up  to  a  reverie,  in  which  the  figure  of 
Miss  Scarlett  had  taken  the  most  prominent  part. 
He  must  marry  some  day.  It  had  seemed  to  him, 
after  leaving  that  pure  girl  at  the  Opera  House  door, 
that  perhaps  he  might  bring  himself  to  a  partial 
worthiness  to  share  her  life.  And  now  the  name  of 
the  hostelrie  where  she  slept  the  sleep  of  innocence 
had  been  spoken  by  the  companion  of  his  debauch,  a 
woman  who  had  passed  the  later  hours  of  the  night, 
like  himself,  amid  scenes  of  revelry  and  dissipation  ! 

They  walked  on  in  silence  until  they  had  passed 
into  what  may  be  called  the  Creole  Quarter. 
Few  people  were  yet  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  except 
late  patrons  of  balls,  early  patrons  of  the  markets, 
or  the  market  people  themselves.  A  clock  sounded 
the  hour. 

"  I  did  not  know  it  was  so  late,"  said  the  girl, 
when  she  had  counted  the  strokes.  "I  hope  the 
hotel  servants  will  not  think  it  remarkable  to  see  me 
coming  in." 

"Not  on  the  morning  after  Mardi  Gras,"  he  said, 
reassuringly.  "All  rules  are  suspended  on  such 
occasions.  Night  has  been  turned  into  day.  Many 
men — and  women — have  been  betrayed  into  excesses 
of  which  they  will  feel  a  little  ashamed  later.  But 
it  is  only  once  a  year,  and  that  will  quiet  their  accus- 
ing consciences.  It  is  necessary,  I  believe,  for 
humanity  to  have  its  fling  once  in  a  while,  to  relieve 
a  pressure  that  might  otherwise  burst  the  macbin- 
cry." 


«Ot  ON  THE  ItOBffHre   AFTEB."  107 


There  was  a  moment  of  silence  and  then  the  veiled 
girl  asked  : 

"Are  you  sure  it  is  only  an  annual  affair  with 
most  of  the  people  we  have  just  left  ?" 

"1  think  it  was  at  least  an  exaggerated  form  of 
dissipation  for  most  of  them  ;  that  is,  of  the  mascu 
line  part." 

"  And  —  the  women  ?" 

The  question  came  straight  and  clear.  Maybury 
wished  again  for  a  full  view  of  the  face  of  his  com- 
panion,  that  he  might  have  some  guide  what  answer 
to  make. 

"  Most  of  the  women,"  he  said,  finally,  thinking  it 
best  to  be  truthful  in  the  absence  of  the  desired 
information,  "are  not  such  as  an  affair  of  this  kind 
could  harm." 

The  next  question  was  as  direct  as  the  one  that 
preceded  it. 

"You  would  judge,  would  you  not,  by  the  mere 
presence  of  a  woman  in  that  hall,  that  her  character 
was  not  what  it  should  be  ?" 

He  writhed  uneasily  before  the  rigid  examination. 

"  It  would  raise  that  suspicion,"  he  said,  "  unless 
she  showed  more  modesty  than  the  average  of  them  ; 
as,  for  instance,  you  did." 

"Then,"  she  said,  as  if  pleased  to  hear  it,  "  you  da 
not  think  me  as  wicked  as  the  others  ?" 

"  I  shall  think  you  whatever  you  desire  me  to 
think,"  he  replied,  gallantly.  "  I  have  not  the  least 
disposition,  as  they  say  in  politics,  to  go  behind  the 
returns." 

They  were  neanng  the  hotel  and  both  instinctively 
walked  slower,  not  wishing  to  stand  too  long  in  sight 
of  its  doors. 


198  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

**  Before  you  go,  tell  me  we  shall  meet  again,*1  said 
Maybury,  gallantly.  "  It  would  be  a  pity  to  think 
this  the  end  of  an  acquaintance  that  has  given  me  so 
much  pleasure." 

"Spare  your  compliments," she  answered.  "  How 
can  I  ever  see  you  ?  The  circumstances  under  which 
we  have  met  form  a  bar  to  future  meetings." 

**  And  am  I  never  to  look  upon  that  face  you  have 
so  carefully  concealed  ?"he  asked,  sadly.  "  You  have 
the  advantage  of  me  in  that  my  features,  even  my 
name,  are  known  to  you." 

The  girl  hesitated  before  replying.  In  the  choicest 
and  most  delicate  phrases  he  could  command,  the 
young  man  urged  his  case,  until  she  half  relented. 

44 1  cannot  promise  anything,"  she  said,  "  and  I 
really  must  not  stand  here  a  moment  longer. 
Give  me  your  address  and,  if  it  is  possible,  I  will 
send  you  some  message.  I  would  like  to  meet  you, 
I  am  willing  to  own  it,  but  I  fear  you  would  connect 
me  unpleasantly  with  the  scenes  of  this  night,  and 
that  I  should  never  stand  as  high  in  your  esteem." 

To  this  the  young  New-Yorker  found  a  suitable 
disclaimer,  and  taking  his  card  from  its  case  he 
wrote  upon  it  the  number  and  street  where  he  wa« 
at  present  residing. 

"  How  long  are  you  to  remain  in  New  Orleans  ?** 
she  inquired,  taking  the  card. 

"I  was  going  in  a  day  or  two,"  he  said,  *  but  I 
shall  wait  a  word  from  you  now.  Yes,  I  am  serious. 
My  time  is  entirely  at  my  disposal,  and  I  want  to 
see  you  very  much  indeed." 

«  Well,  good-bye,  now." 

Pressing  the  hand  he  held  out  to  her,  the  incognita 


DRUNK  AS  A  FOOL.  169 

went  toward  the  ladies'  entrance  to  the  Hotel  Royal, 
while  her  companion  slowly  walked  toward  Charles 
street. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  \ 

DRUNK     AS     A     FOOL.N 

Mardi  Gras  had  come  and  gone,  the  Scarletts  had 
been  in  the  city  over  a  week,  and  upon  the  surface 
they  had  accomplished  very  little  toward  the  con- 
quest of  the  son  of  Judge  Maybury.  If  the  Senator 
had  not  had  a  confidence  in  Mr.  David  Bayley  that 
amounted  to  blind  faith,  he  might  have  complained 
of  the  slowness  with  which  things  were  moving. 
He  knew  that  his  daughter  had  met  Douglass  at  the 
French  Opera  House  the  night  before,  and  that  the 
young  man  had  promised  to  call  upon  him  before 
leaving  New  Orleans.  He  knew,  for  he  had  seen 
Flora  on  her  return  from  the  spectacle,"that  her  con- 
versation with  Maybury  had  been  agreeable,  and 
that  she  had  no  doubt  he  would  keep  his  word. 
With  these  assurances  he  was  compelled  to  be  con- 
tent, and  await  the  slow  issue  of  events. 

Miss  Scarlett  rose  late  on  the  morning  after  Mardi 
Gras.  She  told  her  father  when  she  met  him  at 
lunch  that  she  had  not  slept  well,  and  a  glance  at 
her  tired  eyes  convinced  him  that  she  spoke  the 
truth.  It  was  not  the  first  night  she  had  slept  badly. 
The  mysterious  illness  still  kept  its  sway  over  her. 
Dr.  Parton  had  prescribed  for  it  before  she  left  New 
York,  and  had  predicted  that  it  would  soon  give 
way  to  his  treatment  and  the  restoring  influences  of 


170  TOUNe   MISS   QUDDY. 

the  Southern  climate.  When  this  prediction  was 
disproved,  the  Senator  sent  for  the  doctor,  saying 
nothing  to  Flora  of  his  action,  and  telling  the  phy- 
sician to  pretend  that  he  had  come  to  the  Crescent 
City,  like  the  rest,  on  a  journey  of  pleasure  only. 

Dr.  Parton  had  arrived,  seen  his  fair  patient,  had  a 
long  talk  with  her,  and  made  a  slight  change  in  the 
prescription  she  was  to  take.  He  said  to  the  Hon. 
Augustus  that  it  would  take  a  Iktle  time  before  the 
effect  of  the  new  medicine  would  be  perceptible,  but 
that  he  saw  no  ultimate  danger  in  the  symptoms. 

When  Miss  Scarlett  made  her  appearance  on  Wed- 
nesday, therefore,  her  father  studied  her  face  closer 
than  was  his  wont.  She  only  addressed  him  a  pleasant 
'Good-morning,"  and  betook  herself  to  the  lunch. 

"  How  do  you  find  yourself  to-day,  May  ?"  was  the 
question  which  greeted  her. 

"  I  didn't  know  I  had  been  lost,"  was  the  half 
humorous  reply.  "  Really,  papa,  I  wish  you  wouldn't 
ask  that  question  with  such  a  serious  air.  I'm  not 
quite  well,  as  you  know,  but  neither  am  I  very  ill.  It 
will  pass  off  in  time,  if  we  only  have  patience.  Dr. 
Parton  has  sent  to  New  York  for  something  which 
he  thinks  will  improve  my  spirits.  Until  it  comes, 
you  must  expect  to  see  me  a  little  downcast,  but  the 
less  you  allude  to  it  the  better  it  will  be  for  me." 

Mr.  Scarlett  drew  a  long  breath,  but  replied  imme- 
diately that  he  would  say  nothing  more  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  then  turned  the  conversation  abruptly. 

"Did  Mr.  Maybury  name  any  special  hour  at 
which  he  would  call  ?" 

"  No.     He  said  '  to-morrow.'  " 

The  father  gazed  at  her  thoughtfully. 

*  He  appeared  glad  to  see  you  ?" 


AS   A.   FOOL.  171 

"  Ye*.     He  was  very  kind  indeed." 

"  But  still,"  Mr.  Scarlett  waited  a  second  to  find 
the  exact  language  he  wanted,  "  he  said — nothing — 
particular." 

Miss  Flora  looked  up  from  the  food  she  was  pre- 
tending to  eat,  and  assumed  a  quizzical  expression. 

"  My  dear  papa,"  she  answered,  "  was  it  a  time 
and  place  for  anything  definite  ?  People  could  hear 
every  word  he  spoke." 

The  Senator  wished  that  his  Architect  were 
present,  to  advise  him  in  this  important  emergency. 

"  He  ought  to  say  something  particular — some- 
thing definite,"  said  he,  "  before  we  leave  New 
Orleans." 

The  girl  bowed  absently. 

"  My  child,"  said  the  Senator,  bending  toward 
her,  "  you  are  still  willing  to  marry  him,  are  you 
not?" 

The  girl  slowly  put  down  the  glass  of  claret  from 
which  she  was  drinking. 

"  Mr.  Maybury  is  the  only  marriageable  man  who 
is  not  distasteful  to  me,"  she  replied.  u  As  I  have 
told  you  already,  I  hope  to  have  my  wedding  post- 
poned to  as  late  a  date  as  possible  ;  but  I  am  willing 
to  have  it  understood  and — arranged." 

She  rose  from  the  table  without  looking  at  him, 
put  in  place  some  hair  that  hung  over  her  forehead, 
and  then  left  the  room,  passing  a  caressing  hand 
over  her  father's  shoulder  as  she  went  by  him. 

Let  us  now  look  in  upon  Mr.  Douglass  Maybury 
in  his  lodgings  on  Charles  street.  Tired  with  his 
night  of  dissipation  he  slept  late,  and  it  was  two 
o'clock  before  he  opened  his  eyes.  His  first  thought 


171  TOTOG   MISS   OIDDT. 

was  that  a  slight  refreshment  in  the  shape  of  a 
certain  alcoholic  mixture,  of  which  soda  was  one 
ingredient,  would  be  beneficial,  and  he  called  a  ser- 
vant by  means  of  a  bell  which  was  easily  reached 
from  where  he  lay. 

"  Mawnin',  sah,"  said  the  colored  boy.  "  What 
does  yo*  honah  wish  dis  mawnin'?" 

"  I  am  afraid,"  responded  Maybury,  rising  on  one 
elbow,  "  that  you  are  trifling  with  the  truth,  Thomas, 
in  referring  to  the  present  time  of  day  as  one  in 
which  the  sun  has  not  yet  passed  the  zenith." 

The  negro  rolled  his  eyes  until  they  seemed  to  be 
made  entirely  of  white.  Then  he  said  "Yes,  sah," 
five  or  six  times,  bowing  profoundly  at  each  word. 
It  was  evident  that  the  expressions  used  were  quite 
unintelligible  to  him. 

"  Quit  that,  you  ebony  jumping-jack  !"  cried  May- 
bury,  fearful  that  this  performance  was  destined  to 
go  on  indefinitely,  "  and  inform  me  whether  you  can 
procure  a  decoction  composed  of  one  part  eau  de 
vie  and  three  parts  of  some  aerated  liquid." 

"  Yes,  sah  ;  yo're  quite  right,  sah,"  was  all  that 
this  request  drew  from  the  retainer. 

Douglass  threw  off  the  bedclothes  and  sat  upright 
on  the  edge  of  the  couch. 

"You  heathen,  run  out  and  bring  me  a  siphon  and 
a  bottle  of  brandy.  I  must  have  a  bracer  before  I 
put  on  my  clothes." 

Having  now  arrived  at  a  plane  where  the  darkey 
could  comprehend  his  wants,  the  young  man  was  not 
long  in  having  them  gratified.  Mixing  the  drink 
himself,  he  swallowed  a  liberal  quantity  of  it,  and 
then  stretched  himself,  in  a  large  chair,  while  Thomas 
Jefferson,  which  was  the  name  of  the  colored  indi- 


DBUKK  A8  A   POOL.  173 

victual  who  was  his  temporary  valet,  lathered  his 
face  and  proceeded  to  shave  it. 

"  I  believe  I  saw  you  when  I  came  in  this  morn- 
ing ?"  said  Maybury,  with  his  face  all  suds. 

"  Yes,  sah,  I  had  de  honah  of  openin'  de  do'  for 
yo',  sah." 

"  Well,  Jeff,  tell  the  truth  ;  was  I,  or  was  I  not,  a 
sight  ?" 

At  this  the  negro  grinned  until  the  whiteness  of 
his  teeth  rivalled  that  of  his  optics.  ' 

"  No,  sah,"  he  answered,  "  you  wa'n't  so  berry  bad, 
sah.  I'se  seen  yo'  much  wuss,  sah." 

44  You  lie !"  said  Maybury.  "  I  was  drunk  as  a 
fool  !" 

It  is  one  of  the  pleasures  of  possessing  money  that 
one  can  address  his  inferiors  in  this  manner,  con- 
fident that  so  long  as  his  "  tips  "  are  liberal  no  objec- 
tion will  be  made  to  the  form  of  amusement. 

"You  see,"  continued  the  judge's  son,  when  he 
could  speak  again,  "  I  had  been  to  the  ball  of  the 
Well-Known  Gentlemen.  I  had  drunk  something 
like  eight  or  ten  quarts  of  champagne  there,  not  to 
mention  a  few  other  things  at  the  bar.  But  before  I 
started  to  the  hall  I  had  something  rather  stiff  ;  and 
after  I  left  the  hall,  and  had  taken  the  lady  to  her 
hotel—" 

He  paused,  wondering  if  he  had  not  said  more 
than  was  judicious. 

"  De  lady,  sah  ?"  questioned  Mr.  T.  Jefferson, 
waiting  for  him  to  proceed. 

"Lady?  Who  said  anything  about  any  lady?  I 
was  remarking  that  on  my  way  home  I  stopped  in 
aad  took  several  nightcaps  ;  and  when  I  got  into 
this  room,  as  you  know  very  well,  I  had  a  drink  or 


174  TOTTNG   MIBS   GIDDY. 

two  more  while  you  were  undressing  me.  If  you 
were  a  real  honest  nigger,  Jeff,  you'd  admit  that  I 
looked  like  a  Keeley  Institute  patient." 

The  colored  man  had  only  understood  one  word 
of  this  harangue,  which  he  thought  impugned  his 
character. 

"  Honesty,  sah  ?  Do  you  doubt  my  honesty,  Mr. 
Maybury  ?"  he  demanded,  in  a  grieved  tone. 

Maybury  lay  back  in  the  chair  from  which  he  had 
partly  risen  to  observe  his  face  better  in  the  glass 
that  hung  opposite. 

41 1  guess  you'd  better  finish  the  shave,  Jeff,"  he 
said,  with  a  sort  of  resignation.  "  Metaphysics  are 
lost  on  your  cerebral  development." 

His  silence  was  not  broken  again  until  he  was 
nearly  dressed  and  had  donned  his  dressing-gown 
to  await  the  production  of  his  breakfast. 

"What  a  night  it  was  !"  he  reflected,  when  he  had 
begun  the  repast,  and  was,  by  request,  alone  for  the 
nonce.  "  It  shows  what  varying  moods  a  fellow  is 
capable  of  in  a  few  short  hours.  Let — me — see  : 
At  ii  o'clock  I  was  sitting  with  Miss  Scarlett  in  the 
French  Opera  House.  At  11.15  I  was  waiting  with 
her  in  the  lobby  for  her  carriage,  her  soft  arm 
pressed  close  to  mine  and  her  pure  face  so  near  me 
that  I  could,  but  for  the  profanation,  have  kissed  it. 
In  those  moments  what  resolutions  of  a  changed 
life  thronged  my  brain  !  What  visions  of  a  sweet 
fireside,  a  wife  who  should  be  the  only  woman  on 
earth  for  me,  a  calm,  serene  existence  such  as  the 
poets  write  of,  an  end  to  all  the  vapid,  contemptible 
career  I  have  so  long  followed  !  Had  there  been  a 
time  and  place  sufficient  I  should  have  told  that 
girl  then  and  there  that  I  loved  her  ;  that  I  wanted 


MWJHK   AS   A   FOOL.  ITS 

her  promise  to  wed  me  ;  that  I  would  be  true  to  her 
as  long  as  I  had  breath. 

"This  was  11.15.  At  11.20,  perhaps  11.25,  sne 
was  driven  away,  and  I  walked  to  the  club,  wishing 
I  had  not  made  an  agreement  with  Dilbach  to  go  to 
that  nauseating  ball  of  which  he  had  talked  so  much 
Yes,  it  was  at  11.35  tnat  I  walked  into  the  club- 
house. I  remember  that  was  what  the  clock  said 
over  the  mantel. 

"  From  that  hour  till  half-past  one  I  might  have 
made  an  interesting  study  for  the  angels.  I  was  the 
one  sinner  that  attracts  more  favorable  comment  in 
celestial  circles  that  the  ninety  and  nine  just  men 
who  need  no  repentance.  And  then  came  Dilbach^ 
Why  the  devil  should  Dilbach  come?  Men  have 
been  known  before  now  to  forget  their  engagements. 
If  it  had  been  anything  but  a  confounded  dance  of 
the  swell  mob  he  would  have  been  just  as  likely  to 
forget  it  as  not.  Dilbach  came  ;  and  he  said — what 
did  Dilbach  say  ? — oh,  yes  !  He  said,  '  Will  you  have 
a  drink  ?'  And  I  said — as  anybody  might  have 
known  I  would  say,  '  Why,  cert'nly.'  " 

Mr.  Maybury  yawned  over  his  coffee  at  the  recoJ- 
lection,  and  then  returned  to  his  reminiscences. 

"  We  went  to  the  ball,  didn't  we  ?  We  had  some 
drinks  at  the  bar,  and  then  I  saw  Madge  and  the 
rest  of  them  ;  and  then  that  masked  girl  called  me 
by  my  name — that  masked  girl  who  would  not  look 
at  the  quadrille.  And  the  next  thing,  the  other 
masked  girl  came  up,  the  one  who  danced  a  can-can 
herself  later  in  the  morning.  And  I  took  both  of 
them  into  the  wine-room,  where  one  of  them  drank 
like  a  fish — that  is  like  a  fish  that  liked  champagne 
— and  the  other  hardly  touched  the  wine.  Both  of 


176  YOUNG  MISS  OIDDY. 

them  knew  me,  and  I  couldn't  recognize  either.  I 
wasn't  confused  and  took  one  girl  for  both,  the 
difference  in  their  actions  proves  that.  But  what  a 
magnificent  abandon  the  can-can  dancer  showed  ! 
By-the-way,  I've  got  one  of  her  garters  somewhere. 
Yes,  here  it  is,  divinely  blue,  jewelled  like  that  of  a 
princess,  large  enough  to  satisfy  a  sculptor  looking 
for  a  model." 

The  young  man  touched  the  article  with  a  sort  of 
reverence  as  he  spoke,  and  examined  it  with  care  to 
see  if  he  could  discover  anything  like  a  monogram. 
There  was  nothing  whatever.  It  was  simply  a  hand- 
some combination  of  silk  elastic,  metal  and  gems. 

"  After  all,  the  other  girl  interested  me  most,"  he 
went  on  to  say,  laying  down  the  bauble.  "  She  is  the 
one  I  should  like  best  to  meet,  now  that  the  excite- 
ment of  the  night  is  over  and  I  can  think  with  a  per- 
fectly clear  head.  What  a  delicious  little  thing  she 
was,  even  with  her  features  obscured  by  that  miser- 
able mask !  There  was  every  symptom  of  a  real  lady 
about  her.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  was  at  the 
ball,  she  evinced  a  modesty  of  deportment  for  which 
I  shall  praise  her  when  I  see  her  face  to  face.  When 
I  see  her?  Shall  I  ever  see  her?  Will  she  redeem 
the  half  promise  she  made  me  on  the  Rue  Royale, 
and  send  me  word  where  I  can  have  the  ineffable 
pleasure  of  finding  her?" 

As  there  was  no  one  present  to  answer  the  query 
he  had  propounded,  young  Mr.  Maybury  was  obliged 
to  dismiss  the  subject,  though  with  regret.  There 
were  several  letters  on  the  mantel  which  he  had  not 
yet  thought  to  open,  and  he  began  to  tear  the  en- 
velopes apart  in  an  abstracted  manner.  The  only 
one  in  the  lot  that  he  paid  much  attention  to  was  in 


DKDNK   AS  A  FOOL.  177 

the  handwriting  of  Mr.  David  Bayley.  He  knew 
that  Bayley  was  with  the  Scarletts,  and  was  sur- 
prised that  he  had  not  sooner  received  a  call  from 
him.  The  letter  announced  that  the  Architect  was 
at  the  Royal,  and  that  the  address  of  Mr.  Maybury 
had  only  just  been  communicated  to  him.  (The 
missive  was  dated  on  the  previous  evening.) 

"  I  am  full  of  Mardi  Gras,"  said  the  letter,  "  as  no 
doubt  you  are,  and  haven't  a  minute  to  spare  to-night. 
Supposing  we  make  an  engagement  to  meet  each 
other  Wednesday  evening  at  five  o'clock  at  this 
house.  My  room  is  No.  — .  If  no  declination  is 
received,  I  shall  wait  for  you  here." 

Maybury  was  glad  Bayley  was  so  near.  He 
remembered,  with  regret,  that  he  had  promised  to 
go  to  meet  the  Scarletts  on  that  very  evening.  What 
had  recently  occurred  changed  his  entire  train  of 
thought  in  reference  to  that  family.  If  he  could 
have  had  the  entire  time  with  Bayley  alone,  how 
much  pleasanter  it  would  be  !  He  looked  at  his 
watch,  which  had  run  down,  and  then  at  the  clock, 
the  hands  of  which  indicated  a  quarter  to  four. 
Well,  there  would  be  time  to  see  Dave  for  half  an 
hour  or  so,  and  still  keep  the  other  engagement. 
Perhaps  he  would  get  some  cue  from  the  Architect 
as  to  whether  there  was  any  change  in  the  lay  of  the 
land. 

"  I  wish  I  wasn't  such  an  ass  1"  exclaimed  Maybury, 
with  a  disgusted  look  at  his  presentment  in  the 
mirror.  "  I'm  about  as  fit  to  marry  that  innocent 
daughter  of  Scarlett's  as  I  am  to  go  to  Heaven.  And 
I'm  as  likely  to  ask  her  to  have  me  the  next  time  we 
meet  as  anything  else.  What 's  the  matter  with  me  ? 
Either  of  those  fairies  last  night  could  have  led  me  t« 


178  YOUNG   MISS    &IDDY. 

any  lengths,  had  they  had  the  mind.  The  one  I  saw 
home  made  a  decided  impression  on  my  heart,  too. 
And — Gracious  Goodness  ! — she  lives  somewhere  io 
that  same  Hotel  Royal,  where  the  Senator  and  Miss 
Flora  and  Dave  Bayley  reside  !  For  all  I  know  I  may 
run  across  her  in  the  public  hall  ! 

"  I  wonder  if  I  could  tell  anything  by  her  gait  or 
form.  She  would  know  me,  at  any  rate,  and  unless 
she  has  an  iron  nerve  she  couldn't  look  me  in  the 
eye  without  giving  some  indication.  But  would  she 
like  to  have  me  visiting  other  young  ladies  ?  May 
she  not  have  a  streak  of  jealousy  in  her  disposition  ? 
She  didn't  seem  like  a  girl  who  would  shoot;  but  one 
never  can  tell ! 

"Upon  my  word,"  added  the  young  man,  who  was 
now  laughing,  "  I  had  best  get  out  of  this  town  about 
as  soon  as  the  Lord  will  let  me." 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

A     DEVIL     OF     A     MESS. 

It  was  a  little  earlier  than  five  when  Maybury 
knocked  at  David  Bayley's  door,  and  was  admitted 
with  effusive  delight  by  that  gentleman.  He  had 
met  no  lady  in  the  hall  who  was  in  the  least  likely 
to  be  his  fair  inamorata  of  the  preceding  night,  but 
the  fear — or  hope,  it  was  about  evenly  divided — 
that  he  might  do  so  gave  his  face  a  sober  look  that 
at  once  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Architect. 

"  What's  the  matter,  Douglass  ?"  he  exclaimed. 
"You  look  as  if  you  had  just  come  from  a  funeral." 


A   TJBTIL   OF  A   MESS.  1T§ 

"  Oh,  I'm  in  a  devil  of  a  mess  !"  was  the  reply. 
"Yes,  women,  of  course.  Why  didn't  you  show  up 
twenty-four  hours  ago  and  chaperon  me  through 
the  most  dangerous  part  of  a  New  Orleans  year?" 

It  was  now  the  Architect's  turn  to  look  troubled. 

"Tell  me  all  about  it,"  he  said. 

Without  much  circumlocution  Mr.  Maybury  com- 
plied. As  he  finished,  a  broad  smile  crossed  the 
lips  of  the  Architect. 

"You  are  taking  it  for  granted  that  she  is  what 
she  appeared,"  said  he. 

"  Yes,  I  shall  give  her  the  benefit  of  every  doubt 
as  long  as  the  question  is  open.  Perhaps  she  will 
write  to  me  and  reveal  herself." 

"  Perhaps  she  will.  In  the  meantime  what  shall 
we  do  for  the  evening  ?  There  are  a  hundred  things 
I  want  to  say  to  you." 

In  making  this  last  observation  Mr.  Bayley  will 
not  in  the  least  deceive  the  reader,  though  he  did 
Mr.  Maybury.  He  knew  perfectly  well  that  his 
friend  had  made  a  promise  to  visit  the  Scarletts. 
When  Douglass  mentioned  this  fact  the  Architect 
elevated  his  eyebrows  and  listened  to  as  much  con- 
cerning the  events  at  the  French  Opera  House  as 
the  other  chose  to  tell  him. 

"  Miss  Flora  is  not  looking  well,"  he  commented. 
"  It  was  hoped  this  journey  would  do  wonders  for 
her,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  Dr.  Parton,  who  is 
here,  don't  know  what  ails  her." 

"  Parton  here  !"  echoed  Maybury. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Bayley,  in  a  significant  tone. 
M  The  Senator  sent  for  him.  They  don't  want  her 
to  know  it  ;  the  pretense  is  that  his  coming  was  a 


180  TOETNQ   MISS   GIDDY. 

personal  matter-^-that  he  wanted  to  see  the  Car- 
nival." 

Mr.  Maybury  looked  deeply  interested. 

"  And  what  does  he  say  ?"  he  inquired. 

"  Oh,  he  thinks  she  needs  something  to  excite  and 
arouse  her.  She  does  nothing  to  stir  her  blood, 
which  is  stagnating.  What  can  she  do  ?"  he  asked. 
"  She  cares  nothing  for  society  ;  she  has  no  compan- 
ions ;  her  father  doesn't  understand  her  any  more 
than  any  one  else." 

Douglass  Maybury  was  the  picture  of  sympathy. 

"  Wealth  doesn't  always  bring  happiness,  does 
It  ?"  he  remarked.  "  I  wish  these  agitators  who 
think  money  such  a  wonderful  thing  could  change 
places  for  an  hour  with  some  of  those  they  envy, 
just  to  see  how  quick  they  would  want  to  change 
back  ?" 

Mr.  Bayley  bowed,  as  if  to  say  there  was  much 
truth  in  this  observation.  Then  Mr.  Maybury  looked 
at  his  watch  and  said  he  would  soon  have  to  be 
going. 

"  When  am  I  to  see  you  ?"  inquired  the  Architect. 
"  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  return  to  New  York  in  a 
day  or  two." 

"  I  will  call  to-morrow.  How  is  the  palace  get- 
ting on  ?" 

"  Finely.     It  will  be  ready  to  occupy  in  six  weeks." 

"  Really  !  I  had  come  to  think  it  would  never 
get  beyond  the  stage  known  as  '  Hearing  comple- 
tion.' " 

Mr.  Bayley  said  there  was  no  doubt  that  the 
furniture  would  be  put  into  the  new  house  by  the 
middle  of  April.  He  alluded  at  some  length  to  the 
elegance  of  the  carpetings,  the  curtains  and  the  other 


A  DBTIL  OP   A  MESS.  '  181 

things  that  had  been  ordered,  mostly  abroad,  but 
Maybury  showed  only  a  languid  interest.  He  stood 
with  his  hat  in  his  hand,  ready  to  go  whenever  his 
entertainer  came  to  something  that  looked  like  a 
period.  When  he  knocked  at  Mr.  Scarlett's  door, 
and  had  it  opened  by  Arnold,  the  valet,  he  wore  that 
bright  hue  which  excitement  always  gave  to  his  com* 
plexion. 

The  Senator  was  in  a  connecting  room  and  lost 
little  time  in  welcoming  his  guest.  Coached  by  his 
factotum,  the  Architect,  he  avoided  effusiveness,  but 
acted  the  ordinary  part  of  one  glad  to  meet  an 
acquaintance  in  an  unexpected  place.  Maybury  was 
soon  entirely  at  his  ease.  The  talk  began  on  the 
Mardi  Gras  festivities,  which  Mr.  Scarlett  admitted 
he  had  seen  little  of  this  year,  but  which  he  had 
"  done "  thoroughly  in  bygone  days.  The  proces- 
sions, the  decorations,  the  balls  of  the  fashionable 
societies  were  discussed  at  length,  but  no  allusion 
was  made  to  the  kind  of  entertainment  given  by 
such  clubs  as  the  "  Well*Known  Gentlemen."  May- 
bury  had  no  doubt  the  Senator  had  seen  that  iden- 
tical thing  in  his  time,  but  it  was  not  the  subject  for 
discussion  between  a  man  and  the  father  of  one  who 
might  some  day  be  his  wife.  For  the  young  New- 
Yorker  still  considered  Miss  Scarlett  as  among  the 
possibilities  that  the  future  had  in  store  for  him. 

"  And  Miss  Scarlett,  I  hope  she  is  as  well  as  usual  ?" 
he  inquired,  when  a  chance  came  to  make  the  allu- 
sion. 

"  Not  quite,"  responded  the  Senator.  "  The 
exhibition  at  the  Opera  House  was  a  little  too  much 
for  her,  I  fear.  She  has  not  been  used  of  late  to 
being  out  much  at  night.  It  is  nothing  serious/' 


I  Si  YOUVU   MISS    GIDDY. 

he  added,  perceiving  the  blank  look  of  his  com- 
panion, "  nothing  to  cause  any  alarm  ;  simply  a 
little  weariness,  a  mere  warning  to  us  to  see  that 
such  an  occurrence  does  not  happen  too  frequently." 

After  a  talk  on  this  matter,  which  lasted  five  or 
ten  minutes,  Arnold  came  to  inquire  what  time  his 
employer  would  dine.  The  Senator  said  to  May- 
bury  that  he  took  his  meals  at  a  restaurant  in 
another  part  of  the  city,  and,  while  it  was  undoubt- 
edly inconvenient,  he  would  be  obliged  to  ask  him 
to  accompany  him  there.  Learning  that  the  hour 
was  of  no  consequence  to  his  guest,  the  Senator  told 
his  valet  to  send  word  to  Miss  May.  When  Arnold 
returned  he  said  Miss  Scarlett  would  be  ready  for 
the  carriage  at  half-past  seven. 

It  was  in  fact  rather  earlier  when  the  Senator's 
daughter  made  her  appearance,  equipped  for  her 
ride.  She  bowed  sweetly  to  Mr.  Maybury,  and  took 
the  hand  which  he  held  out  to  her.  But  she 
addressed  most  of  her  conversation  to  her  father,  as 
became  a  modest  maiden,  and  only  spoke  to  the 
other  gentleman,  after  her  first  greeting,  when  he 
made  a  remark  which  rendered  a  reply  necessary. 

The  dinner  was  a  very  good  one,  a  fact  which 
Maybury  noticed,  even  with  all  the  other  things  that 
he  had  on  his  mind.  He  had  been  dining  mostly  at 
another  restaurant,  and  experienced  a  tinge  of  regret 
that  he  had  not  been  to  this  place  instead.  When 
the  meal  was  finished  the  Senator  said  he  was  sorry 
to  announce  that  he  had  an  engagement  which  would 
necessitate  his  going  away  for  an  hour  or  so.  Would 
Mr.  Maybury  kindly  escort  Miss  May  to  the  hotel 
and  await  his  return  ? 

In  the  carriage  there  were  temptations,  but  the 


A  DISTIL  OF  A   KBM.  18fi 

young  man  withstood  them  all.  He  could  have 
reached  across  to  the  other  seat  and  taken  a  little 
hand  in  his,  that  lay  so  bewitchingly  in  her  lap.  He 
could  have  said  some  very  fetching  things  about  her 
appearance,  for  in  spite  of  her  paleness  Flora  was 
wonderfully  beautiful  that  evening.  Instead,  he 
spoke  of  the  weather,  and  of  the  city,  and  of  the  new 
house  that  she  was  so  soon  to  occupy  in  New  York. 
And  she  answered  him  as  if  they  were  the  merest 
acquaintances,  and  as  if  Mr.  David  Bayley  had  not 
said  to  both  of  them  that  they  would  make  the 
greatest  mistake  in  their  lives  if  either  married  any 
one  else. 

Once  in  the  private  parlor  the  Scarletts  occupied 
at  the  Royal,  they  were  again  alone.  The  young 
man  found,  as  has  many  another  before  him,  that  it 
was  exceedingly  difficult  to  talk  for  an  hour  with  a 
pretty  girl  and  not  say  anything.  He  fell  into  com- 
pliments that  he  would  fain  have  avoided  ;  expressed 
a  greater  solicitude  for  her  health  than  any  one  but 
a  brother  or  a  lover  would  have  been  justified  in 
showing  ;  evinced  an  interest  in  her  likes  and  dis- 
likes, in  her  plans,  so  far  as  she  had  any,  and  in  her- 
self generally,  which  would  have  misled  another 
woman  into  supposing  that  he  intended  to  ask  her 
to  name  the  day  before  he  left  the  room.  Neverthe- 
less he  did  not  quite  commit  himself. 

Douglass  Maybury  had  an  almost  irrepressible 
desire  to  say  a  number  of  things  that  he  knew  it 
would  be  sheer  folly  to  utter.  What  would  be  the 
use,  for  instance,  in  confiding  to  this  creature,  'tain- 
less  in  thought  as  she  was  in  act,  that  he  feared  him- 
self morally  unfit  to  mate  with  one  so  pure  and  good. 
And  that  was  exactly  what  he  wanted  her  to  know. 


184  TOTING   MISS   GIDDY. 

He  wanted  her  to  realize  that  he  was  far  from  tfie 
ideal  of  what  a  man  ought  to  be,  and  see  whether, 
with  this  information  to  influence  her,  she  would 
still  act  as  she  had  done  toward  him. 

Maybury  was  in  a  quandary.  He  wanted  Flora  to 
know  these  things,  and  yet  he  did  not  want  her  to 
know  them.  He  wished  to  ascertain  what  she  would 
do  if  she  suspected  the  guilty  things  he  had  done 
— to  see  what  she  would  say  in  case  she  ever  found 
them  out.  As  he  had  told  the  Architect,  he  believed 
marriage  would  not  cure  him  of  his  bad  habits.  He 
had  no  confidence  that  he  had  shrewdness  enough 
to  conceal  everything  from  a  wife.  What  would 
this  girl  do  if  he  reeled  into  her  room  at  six  in  the 
morning,  fresh  from  a  gay  party,  including,  perhaps, 
people  of  both  sexes  ? 

When  Senator  Scarlett  returned,  the  attitude  in 
which  the  young  people  were  found  demonstrated 
to  him  that  nothing  special  had  passed  between. 
Maybury  ascertained  that  Mr.  Scarlett  intended  to 
remain  two  or  three  days  more  in  the  Crescent  City, 
and  promised  to  call  again  before  he  left  town. 

"  Well,  my  dear  ?"  asked  the  father,  anxiously, 
when  he  was  alone  with  his  child. 

She  shook  her  head  in  a  way  that  was  quite  as 
eloquent  as  words. 

"  He  seemed  very  agreeable,  though,"  sighed  the 
Senator. 

She  bowed  in  acknowledgment  that  she  coin- 
cided with  him. 

"  He  will  come  home  in  the  summer,"  continued 
Mr.  Scarlett,  encouragingly,  "  and  during  the  water- 
ing-place season  all  will  be  arranged." 

The  girl's  fair  brow  contracted  with  wrinkles. 


A  DEVIL  OF  A   MESS.  185 

"If  we  had  never  begun  this,"  she  said,  in  a  low 
tone,  "I  would  not  begin  now.  I  could  have  learned 
to  endure  one  of  the  others,  perhaps,  as  easily  as 
him." 

The  father  hemmed  several  times,  as  if  to  clear  his 
throat  of  something  that  stuck  in  it  tenaciously. 

"  It  is  the  only  time  I  have  ever  tried  to  influence 
you,"  he  said.  "And  even  in  this,  my  child,  you 
must  not  let  me  overbalance  your  own  judgment." 

"  Oh,  the  reasons  are  all  on  one  side,  of  course," 
she  replied.  "  He  has  Family,  and  we  have  Money. 
It  is  a  common  arrangement  enough.  I  am  not 
finding  any  fault.  Feeling  as  I  do  this  spring,  mar- 
riage has  not  many  charms  for  me  ;  but  I  shall  prob- 
ably be  better  before  a  great  while." 

He  reminded  her  of  what  Dr.  Parton  had  said — 
that  she  needed  something  to  rouse  her — upon 
which  she  interrupted  him  with  a  light  laugh. 

"  Do  you  think,"  she  asked,  "that  marriage  would 
have  that  effect?  All  the  women  I  have  noticed 
grew  duller  and  duller  after  the  wedding-day.  If  I 
had  a  purpose  in  life,  now,  like  Charles — " 

She  stopped,  laughing  again,  for  it  was  evident 
that  her  brother's  purpose  in  life  had  never  made 
him  particularly  lively.  Then  she  ceased  the  whole 
conversation  abruptly  and  kissed  her  father  good- 
night. 


160  VODMO   MI88 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

MARRIAGE    IS    SOMETIMES    A    CURE. 

The  intention  of  Douglass  Maybury  to  proceed 
toward  California  was  not  carried  out  exactly  as  he 
anticipated.  The  week  that  followed  his  last  des- 
cribed evening  with  the  Scarletts  proved  one  of  the 
most  important  of  his  life,  and  its  events  changed 
the  entire  course  of  his  future. 

The  first  shock  awaited  him  in  a  large  envelope 
that  was  handed  him  the  next  morning,  bearing  upon 
it  the  printed  request  that  if  not  delivered  within 
five  days  it  should  be  returned  to  Blackstone  Coke, 
Esq.,  New  York.  Maybury  had  written  to  Mr.  Coke 
for  more  money,  thinking  it  best  to  have  enough 
with  him  at  the  outset  of  a  journey  whose  end  he 
could  not  foresee.  He  took  up  the  envelope  languidly, 
and  opened  it  with  a  knife  that  lay  on  the  stand  at  the 
head  of  his  bed,  for  he  had  not  yet  risen.  But  instead 
of  the  letter  of  credit  he  found  a  check  for  a  much 
smaller  sum,  and  a  personal  note  to  the  following 
effect  : 

••  DOUGLASS  MAYBURY,  ESQ., 

"  Dear  Sir:— 

"  I  find  on  examining  your  account  that  the  stuns  you  have 
drawn  do  not  leave  the  balance  which  you  request  me  to 
forward  to  you  at  New  Orleans.  1  therefore  send  a  check 
for  what  remains  —  two  hundred  and  eleven  dollars,  forty- 
five  ($21  1.45)  —  which  I  think  you  will  find  no  trouble  in  cash- 
ing. Use  this  letter,  if  necessary,  at  the  Union  Bank.  I 


I*   SOMETIMES   A   OCBB."  187 

shall  be  glad  to  show  you  the  entire  account  whenever  you 
are  in  the  city. 

"  Very  Resp'fully, 

"B.  Cone. 

For  some  minutes  the  young  man  sat  upright  in 
bed,  staring  at  the  missive  he  had  read.  Penniless  ! 
And  without  the  least  forewarning  !  He  had  sup- 
posed  he  had  enough  to  last  two  or  three  years  yet ; 
and  at  all  events  he  had  felt  sure  Mr.  Coke  would 
give  him  ample  notice  when  his  funds  began  to  draw 
to  a  close. 

Penniless  !  "  Dead  broke,"  in  the  vernacular  to 
which  he  was  accustomed.  His  purse  was  about 
empty.  The  amount  of  this  check  would  no  more 
than  pay  what  he  owed  in  the  Crescent  City.  He 
was  a  pauper.  Ugh  I  What  a  horrible  sensation  it 
was  ! 

He  took  up  the  check  again  and  re-read  the 
Liliputian  figures.  He  could  have  crammed  that 
bit  of  paper  down  the  throat  of  Blackstone  Coke 
with  a  good  will.  It  was  lucky  for  the  legal  light  that 
New  York  was  a  very  long  way  from  New  Orleans. 
What  had  become  of  the  seventy  thousand  dollars 
his  father  had  left  him  ?  Coke  had  stolen  it,  of 
course  !  A  thieving,  sneaking  old  fox  of  a  lawyer, 
he  had  done  as  he  pleased  because  there  was  no  one 
to  watch  him.  And  to  cap  the  climax  of  his  villainy 
by  sending  this  beastly  check,  too  small  to  buy  a 
decent  coffin  in  which  to  be  buried  !  Maybury  swore 
to  himself  until  the  walls  of  the  room  should  have 
been  obscured  with  the  fumes  of  sulphur. 

But,  after  he  had  called  his  servant  and  donned 
bis  clothing,  he  had  to  admit,  disagreeable  a»  it  was, 


188  YOWG  MISS  GIDDY. 

that  Coke  might  have  been  a  thoroughly  honest  man. 
He  had  been  ."old,  long  before,  that  some  of  the 
securities  which  made  up  the  sum  his  father  ap 
peared  to  have  left  were  of  inflated  stocks,  which, 
would  be  worth  much  less  if  sold  at  their  true  value. 
The  trustee  had  never  refused  to  honor  all  calls  and 
during  some  years  they  had  been  undoubtedly  large. 

The  only  thing  that  still  angered  the  young  man, 
when  he  became  calmer,  was  the  fact  that  he  had 
not  been  told  when  the  sum  due  him  reached  a  much 
larger  figure — when  it  got  down,  for  instance,  to  a 
couple  of  thousand  dollars.  He  might,  for  all  Coke 
knew,  have  started  on  a  trip  to  California,  to  Japan, 
or  to  Egypt.  A  nice  fix  he  would  have  been  in, 
would  he  not,  if  left  in  some  foreign  country  without 
a  sou  !  And  yet,  was  he  much  better  off  in  the 
United  States,  if  it  came  to  that  ?  Was  this  a  place, 
more  than  any  other,  where  a  man  could  get  along 
without  the  coin  of  the  realm  ? 

Then  it  dawned  on  him  what  this  poverty  meant. 
He  could  no  longer  coquette  with  his  destiny.  He 
had  but  two  alternatives — to  marry  or  starve.  Up- 
right in  his  money  dealings  as  it  was  possible  for 
any  man  to  be,  he  would  not  have  borrowed  enough 
to  buy  a  mutton-chop  without  knowing  where 
repayment  was  provided.  Yesterday  he  had  dis- 
cussed the  Scarlett  family  in  an  airy  vefn,  thinking 
that  first  he  would,  and  then  that  he  would  not, 
propose  for  the  hand  of  Miss  Flora.  To-day  no 
choice  was  left. 

There  were,  to  be  sure,  other  girls  ready  to  accept 
it  he  chose  to  ask.  He  thought  over  the  list, 
troubled  as  he  saw  how  the  circle  narrowed  to  this 
one  at  the  Hotel  Royal.  He  would  have  preferred 


"MARRIAGE  is  SOMETIMES  A  CUBE.**         189 

Miss  De  Cook  to  death,  but  the  choice  was  hardly 
perceptible.  The  eldest  Fitz  Robinson  was  coarse 
and  bony.  There  was  something  the  matter  with 
the  entire  list. 

Miss  Scarlett  was  young  and  pretty.  Her  fortune 
was  the  largest  of  them  all.  He  would  have  to  shut 
his  eyes  to  every  other  consideration,  and  take  the 
plunge. 

It  was  mean,  though.  He  was  no  fitter  for  her 
than  he  ever  had  been.  There  was  no  probabil- 
ity that  he  ever  would  be.  The  only  salve  for  his 
conscience  was  the  open  way  in  which  the  Senator 
had  encouraged  him,  and  this  should  not  be  charged 
to  the  poor  child,  so  sweetly  innocent  of  all  the  wiles 
of  a  wicked  world.  He  tried  to  quiet  his  inward 
monitor  by  the  reflection  that  what  he  was  going  to 
do  some  one  did  every  month  in  the  year.  Marriage 
had  ceased  to  be  a  sacred  thing  in  fashionable 
circles.  It  was  a  matter  de  convenance,  and  he  was 
no  worse  than  the  rest.  Was  he  going  to  begin  at 
this  late  day  to  preach  virtue  ?  Certainly  nothing 
could  be  more  ridiculous. 

He  had  a  preference  for  straightforward  ways, 
when  they  would  serve  just  as  well,  and  the  first 
thing  he  did,  after  his  coffee,  was  to  seek  out  Mr. 
Bayley.  This  astute  individual  was  in  his  room, 
expecting  this  very  visitor,  for  the  best  of  reasons. 
He  also  had  received  an  envelope  that  morning 
bearing  the  card  of  Mr.  Blackstone  Coke.  Mr.  Coke 
did  a  great  deal  more  business  for  Senator  Scarlett 
than  he  hud  ever  done  for  Mr.  Maybury.  It  had 
been  an  easy  task  to  learn  from  him  the  exact  state 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Judge's  son.  The  Architect  had 
been  informed  of  the  precise  size  of  the  check  that 


190  TOUWG  KISS  «IDI>Y. 

Douglass  had  received,  and  of  the  fact  that  it  was 
the  very  last  penny  he  had  in  the  world.  This  was 
the  play  of  the  card  that  he  was  awaiting,  that  had 
made  him  persuade  Mr.  Scarlett  and  his  daughter 
to  linger  in  New  Orleans  after  the  Carnival  was 
over.  It  was  quite  clear  to  him  what  course  events 
would  take  when  Douglass  had  exhausted  the  last  of 
his  resources. 

"  Glad  to  see  you  !"  cried  the  Architect,  pretend- 
Ing  not  to  notice  the  dispirited  looks  of  his  caller. 
44 1  was  just  going  to  send  over  a  messenger,  to  tell 
you  I  should  call  before  noon.  It's  more  than  likely 
I  shall  have  to  say  good-bye  to  you  and  start  for 
New  York  this  evening." 

Maybury  picked  up  a  cigar  that  lay  in  a  case  on 
the  table  and  lit  it  mechanically. 

"  Is  that  so  ?"  he  said,  to  gain  time. 

Then,  while  the  Architect  rattled  on,  he  smoked 
himself  into  a  greater  calmness. 

"  Yes,  the  furnishers  are  wild  about  things,  and 
vow  I  must  come  on  at  once.  There  is  a  small  war 
raging  among  them.  The  fellow  who  has  done  the 
parlor  sofas  and  chairs  declares  that  their  effect  will 
be  ruined  by  the  rugs  another  chap  is  putting  in. 
The  paper-hanger  writes  me  that  his  work  is  all 
spoiled  in  the  music-room  by  the  color  of  the  pianos, 
which  are  rosewood  when  they  should  be  mahogany. 
The  marble-work  in  Miss  Flora's  bathroom  is  drag- 
ging, and  the  largest  candelabra  has  not  been 
invoiced  yet.  When  I  once  get  on  the  ground  I  will 
break  a  few  of  their  heads,  for  the  Senator  is  set  on 
getting  into  the  house.  He  has  seen  three  years  go  by, 
and  he  wants  to  get  some  pleasure  out  of  his  money." 

The  young  man  took  htc  cigar  oat  of  bU  mouth, 


"MARRIAGE  is  SOMETIMES  A  CUM,"         Itl 

44  Well,  I  sha'n't  get  much  out  of  mine,"  he  re- 
marked quietly.  "  This  morning  old  Coke,  the 
lawyer,  sent  me  the  last  of  it." 

"The  deuce  !"  said  Bayley,  simulating  surprise. 
44  The  v cry  last  of  it,  do  you  mean  ?  The  end  of  every- 
thing he  had  of  yours  ?" 

" Le  dernier  sou.  I'm  the  poorest  man  you  know, 
Dave.  The  main  reason  I'm  smoking  this  cigar  of 
yours  is  because  I  haven't  enough  to  buy  one." 

Mr.  Bayley  put  his  hands  in  his  pantaloons  pock- 
ets, and  spread  his  legs  apart,  as  many  men  do  when 
they  are  thinking  deeply. 

"Oh,  well,"  he  said  presently.  "  It  really  doesn't 
make  any  difference — to  you.  There  are  plenty  of 
fortunes  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  with  a  bride 
thrown  in." 

Mr.  Maybury  scowled. 

"All  I  object  to  is  the  rider,"  he  said. 

The  Architect  went  to  the  window  and  looked 
down  on  St.  Louis  street. 

"My  dear  Douglass,"  he  said,  on  returning,  "  I've 
said  all  I  can,  long  before  to-day.  If  I  were  to  talk 
a  year  I  could  add  nothing." 

"  But  she — Miss  Scarlett — is  not  well,"  stammered 
Maybury.  "  It  would  be  a  very  inopportune  time  to 
propose  marriage  to  a  girl  who  is  made  ill  by  an 
evening  at  the  Opera  House." 

Bayley  eyed  him  with  an  air  of  pity. 

"  Ignorant  youth,"  he  replied,  "  do  you  not  know 
that  marriage  is  sometimes  the  most  effective  cure  in 
the  entire  materia  medica  ?  I  knew  a  girl  engaged 
for  seven  years  to  an  estimable  man,  who  never 
seemed  to  get  quite  ready  to  ask  her  to  name  the 
Wedding-day.  At  last  she  became  ill  and  for  months 


192  TOUNG  MISS  GIDDT. 

lay  in  bed,  unable  to  rise  more  than  a  few  moments 
at  a  time.  The  unhappy  lover,  feeling  that  her  days 
were  numbered,  begged  his  mother  to  allow  her  to 
be  taken  to  her  house,  where  she  could  receive  better 
nursing  than  at  the  place  where  she  boarded.  The 
mother,  with  Puritanic  instinct,  shrank  from  this 
proposition,  saying  that  marriage  should  precede 
such  a  close  relation.  Driven  to  desperation,  the 
man  called  a  clergyman  and  the  words  were  said  at 
the  bedside  that  made  the  couple  one.  The  bride 
was  then  carried  to  her  husband's  home  on  pillows, 
every  one  fearing  that  the  short  journey  of  two  miles 
or  less  would  prove  fatal.  Six  weeks  later  I  saw 
that  woman  in  her  husband's  carriage,  waiting  for 
him  in  front  of  a  store,  looking  as  well  and  feeling  as 
well — she  herself  admitted — as  any  one  in  the  city.* 
She  had  proved  the  efficacy  of  the  treatment  which 
I  am  sure  Dr.  Parton,  when  consulted,  will  heartily 
recommend  for  Miss  Flora." 

Maybury  shivered.  It  was  diabolical — this  marry- 
ing without  love,  with  no  object  but  to  replenish  an 
empty  purse.  But  it  would  have  to  be  done.  There 
was  no  other  way. 

"  Remember  one  thing,  even  if  it  does  sound  a 
trifle  cold-blooded,"  pursued  Mr.  Bayley.  "  A  hus- 
band has  an  interest  in  the  estate  of  his  wife,  should 
he  survive  her.  In  any  case,  therefore,  your  marriage 
would  settle  your  financial  affairs  for  the  rest  of  your 
life." 

Douglass  was  not  as  ashamed  to  listen  to  this  as 
he  felt  he  ought  to  be.  He  thought  it  time  now  to 
put  a  bold  front  on  the  whole  matter.  He  was  going 

*  I  also  knew  of  this  case. — A.  R. 


"MARRIAGE  is  soicxmoM  A  CURB."         193 

«o  marry  for  money — but  that  was  not  the  worst  of 
it.  There  were  women  whose  cash  he  could  have 
acquired  in  this  way  with  hardly  a  tinge  of  con- 
science ;  warm-blooded,  corn-fed  lassies,  who  could 
give  and  take,  with  whom  he  could  quarrel  and  make 
up,  and  whose  angry  eyes  he  could  face  if  they  had 
occasion  to  complain  of  his  misdemeanors.  It  was 
the  fact  that  the  bride  chosen  for  him — he  could 
hardly  be  said  to  have  chosen  her  for  himself — was 
so  transparently  pure  and  innocent,  that  drove  him 
almost  out  of  his  head  when  he  thought  of  the  injus- 
tice he  was  going  to  commit.  If  such  a  girl  discov- 
ered ker  great  mistake  after  wedding  him,  she  never 
would  utter  a  word  of  reproach,  but  her  blue  eyes, 
filled  with  silent  tears,  would  strike  him  to  the  heart 
and  hurt  a  thousand  times  worse  than  a  dagger.  It 
would  not  do  to  think  of  it.  He  must  marry  her, 
and  the  questions  now  were  only  of  preliminaries. 

"You're  my  friend,  Dave,"  he  said,  "if  I've  got 
one,  and  I  want  you  to  tell  me  just  what  to  do.  I — 
I'll  ask — her  father — this  very  day,  and  have  that 
over  with.  Then  I'll  speak  to  her,  say  to-morrow — 
I  don't  want  the  thing  hanging  for  a  month  or  two, 
if  it's  got  to  be  done.  And  what  do  you  say  about 
the  time?  Shall  I  leave  it  to  her  to  put  it  off  as  long 
as  she  likes,  or  had  I  better  urge  a  nearer  date  ? 
This  sort  of  thing  is  entirely  new  to  me,  you  know." 

The  Architect  hummed  a  tune  that  meant  to  imply 
joviality. 

"  I'm  as  much  a  bachelor  as  yourself,"  he  said, 
"and  quite  as  little  used  to  making  proposals  of 
marriage.  But  if  I  were  going  into  this  matter,  as  I 
understand  you  are,  I'd  get  up  a  prettier  smile  than 
the  one  which  at  this  present  moment  disfigures 


If*  YOUKO   MISS    6IDDT. 

your  countenance.  You  don't  want  to  walk  in  on 
the  old  man  with  an  expression  which  seems  to  say, 
'  I  suppose  I've  got  to  do  this,  but,  by  the  Lord,  I 
hate  it  !'  You  must  brace  up,  if  it  takes  a  quart  of 
whiskey,  and  act  as  if  you  craved  matrimony  above 
all  things.  Then,  when  he's  given  his  consent 
that  you  should  speak  to  the  young  lady,  you  will 
buy  cloves  enough  to  disguise  your  breath,  and  talk 
to  her  in  the  style  we  read  of  in  books.  And,  about 
the  time  ?  Well,  if  I  were  you,  I'd  bear  in  mind 
that  a  bird  in  the  hand  is  worth  a  dozen  in  the 
chaparral.  I'd  get  a  promise  that  the  ceremony 
should  take  place  before  the  end  of  next  June,  and  a 
month  earlier  would  be  better  yet." 

It  required  two  days  for  Maybury  to  get  up  his 
courage,  however,  during  which  Mr.  Bayley  consid- 
erately waited,  and  Senator  Scarlett  stayed,  for  no 
apparent  reason,  in  the  City  of  the  Crescent.  And 
even  at  the  end  of  this  time  the  young  man  did  not 
present  his  cause  by  word  of  mouth.  He  did  it  with 
pen  and  ink,  a  happy  thought  of  the  Architect,  as  a 
means  out  of  the  difficulty,  and  also  to  make  a  more 
certain  entanglement,  should  the  suitor  think  after- 
ward of  changing  his  mind.  The  letter  which  was 
sent  was  a  very  nice  piece  of  literary  composition,  as 
indeed  it  should  be,  when  two  fairly  educated  men 
devoted  themselves  to  it  for  a  whole  evening.  It 
would  have  made  about  a  page  of  this  novel,  if 
reduced  to  print ;  and  it  recited  in  phrase  neither 
too  delicate  nor  too  bold  the  story  it  was  meant  to 
tell. 

Mr.  Scarlett,  whose  hopes  of  this  consummation 
had  sometimes  wavered,  in  spite  of  his  trust  in  the 
eminent  abilities  of  Mr.  Bayley,  read  this  letter  with 


"MABRIAGE  IB  SOMETIMES  A  OUBK."         195 

a  light  heart  and  went  without  delay  to  show  it  to 
his  daughter. 

"At  last!"  he  cried,  as  he  entered  the  room. 
**  Mr.  May  bury  has  sent  in  writing  a 'request  that  he 
may  ask  you  for  your  hand." 

Miss  Flora  took  the  document  which  he  handed 
her,  and  after  perusing  it  for  a  few  moments,  sud- 
denly burst  into  tears. 

"  My  dear  child,"  exclaimed  her  father,  overcome 
at  the  sight,  "  if  this  is  not  agreeable  to  you,  let  me 
answer  him  to  that  effect.  I  have  no  wish  so  great 
as  to  see  you  happy." 

The  girl  wiped  the  tears  away,  and  recovered  her- 
self quickly. 

"  It  is  not  that,"  she  answered,  "  for  I  am  very 
glad  this  has  turned  out  as  you  wish.  But," — she 
hesitated  for  some  time — "  there  is  to  be  no  haste,  is 
there?  I  shall  be  permitted  to  wait — just  as  long--' 
as  I  think  wise  ?" 

He  assured  her  that  there  was  no  doubt  on  this 
score.  All  he  asked  was  that  the  engagement  should 
be  published  as  soon  as  made.  The  wedding  might 
be  postponed  until  the  middle  of  the  summer — 
even  till  autumn — if  she  insisted  upon  it. 

"  Perhaps  I  shall  want  to  make  it  much  later,"  she 
smiled,  to  take  away  the  effect  of  her  weeping. 

"  It  will  certainly  be  left  entirely  to  you,"  he 
answered,  confident  that  this  mood  would  not  be 
lasting. 

As  the  matter  had  been  broached  to  him  in  writ- 
ing, the  Senator  replied  in  the  same  manner,  cour- 
teously giving  his  permission  for  Mr.  Maybury  to 
address  his  daughter,  and  even  adding  that  he  had 
his  best  wishes  for  success.  This  letter  Douglas* 


196  YOUNO   MISS   GIDDT. 

found  in  his  room  when  he  came  home  from  one  of 
the  clubs  about  midnight,  and  he  read  it  with  a 
grave  face. 

The  night  was  rather  warm  and.  after  undressing, 
the  young  man  partially  opened  the  shutters  that 
covered  the  windows  of  his  room.  A  solitary  figure 
was  passing  along  the  pavement  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  way,  and  something  about  it  attracted  his 
attention.  Surely  he  had  seen  that  form  before,  that 
athletic  but  rather  uncouth  body,  that  gait  which 
would  be  described  as  "  slouching,"  were  it  not  so 
powerful. 

"  Austin  Strange  !"  exclaimed  Maybury,  below  his 
breath. 

tt  could  be  none  other.  What  was  he  doing  in 
New  Orleans  ?  Why  was  Esther's  brother  at  mid- 
night, opposite  that  house,  a  thousand  miles  from 
the  city  where  he  belonged. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
"ESTHER  STRANGE  !  GOOD  GOD  !" 

These  were  the  questions  that  assailed  Douglass 
Maybury,  driving  from  his  eyes  whatever  sleep 
might  have  come  to  them  but  for  the  solitary  figure 
that  had  passed  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  way. 

Austin  had  never  seemed  like  a  brother  to  Esther. 
Mr.  Coke  was  authority  for  the  statement  that  when 
she  left  for  school  he  had  shown  not  the  least  inter- 
est.  The  father  had  closed  his  mouth  firmly,  like 


"BSTHBB  STRANGE!  GOOD  GooP  197 

one  who  goes  through  a  disagreeable  experience 
with  the  least  possible  display.  The  stepmother  had 
been  affected  to  tears,  after  the  manner  of  women. 
Esther  had  given  evidence  of  the  greatest  self-com- 
mand, though  she  was  evidently  affected  by  the 
prospect  of  such  an  entire  change  in  her  existence. 
But  Austin — he  did  nothing  but  stare.  When  she 
said  farewell  to  him — he  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
room,  from  which  he  did  not  move — he  responded 
as  one  might  say  good-afternoon  to  a  casual  visitor. 
Stolidity — that  expressed  his  attitude,  according  to 
Mr.  Coke. 

The  idea  that  Esther  might  be  with  him  did  not 
seem  tenable.  They  had  nothing  in  common. 
Beside,  the  girl  was,  of  course,  at  her  school,  hun- 
dreds of  miles  to  the  north.  What,  then,  could  be 
the  errand  of  the  carpenter  ?  Maybury,  though  not 
ordinarily  given  to  curiosity,  wished  heartily  that  he 
knew. 

Had  he  come  to  see  the  festivities  of  Mardi  Gras  ? 
That  was  perfectly  absurd.  It  was  doubtful  if  he 
had  ever  heard  before  of  such  a  thing  as  the  Carni- 
val. Perhaps  some  one  had  hired  him  to  shadow 
the  man  who  had  aspirations  to  the  hand  of  the 
millionaire's  daughter.  Nonsense  !  How  could  that 
dolt  know  enough  to  shadow  anybody  !  It  was  a 
wonder  he  had  been  able  to  get  there  with  the 
requisite  number  of  car  changes. 

A  bright  thought  !  Perhaps  David  Bayley  would 
be  able  to  offer  a  solution  to  the  riddle.  Maybury 
went  to  sleep  with  this  idea  in  mind.  He  would  tell 
Bayley  about  it.  But  the  next  day,  when  he  saw 
the  Architect,  the  greater  matter  made  him  forget 
the  less. 


198  YOUNO  MISS    GIDDY. 

"Well,  it's  done,"  he  said,  as  the  Architect  looked 
at  him  inquiringly.  "  At  least,  the  Senator  has 
answered  my  letter  and  told  me  I  have  his  blessing." 

A  pleasant  smile,  arranged  for  the  occasion, 
illumined  Mr.  Bayley's  face. 

"  A  thousand  congratulations,"  he  murmured. 
"  And  to-day,  I  suppose,  you  will  learn  your  fate 
from  the  fair  girl  herself  ?" 

Douglass  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  had  not 
much  doubt  of  what  the  "  fair  girl  "  would  say, 
though  it  did  not  seem  gracious  to  tell  that  to 
Bay  ley. 

''It's  something  like  joining  a  lodge,  isn't  it?"  he 
replied.  "  First  I  apply  for  admission — through 
you  ;  then  a  committee  reports  on  my  eligibility — 
that's  Scarlett  ;  then  I'm  balloted  for  by  the  lodge 
in  council, — that's  Miss  Flora.  What  if  I  should  get 
black-balled  ?" 

Bayley  shook  his  head,  with  a  wise  expression. 

"  She  loves  you  too  well  for  that,"  he  said. 

An  expression  of  deep  pain  crossed  the  handsome 
features  of  the  other. 

"I  wish  she  didn't,"  he  muttered.  "  I  never  can 
come  up  to  her  expectations,  Dave.  There  will  be 
the  devil  to  pay,  sooner  or  later." 

For  the  next  hour  the  Architect  combated  this 
notion.  He  enlarged  on  the  freedom  of  modern 
marriage,  especially  in  "  high  life,"  where  the  hus- 
band and  wife  are  at  liberty  to  live  their  own  exist- 
ences. 

"  If  you  were  a  mechanic,"  he  said,  "  where  you  had 
to  share  three  rooms  with  her,  you  would  constantly 
run  the  risk  of  jars  and  trouble.  In  a  house  like  that 
I  am  furnishing  you  need  only  meet  when  you  are 


"  ESTHER   HTKAtfGE  !   GOOD  GOD  t"  199 

both  good-natured.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  hare 
separate  apartments.  I  pity  the  man  who  cannot 
get  out  of  bed  without  falling  over  a  pile  5>f  hoop- 
skirts  and  corsets,  or  come  in  a  little  late  without 
seeing  a  night-capped  figure  sitting  upright  at  his 
pillow,  inquiring  where  he  has  been.  In  planning 
the  new  mansion  I  took  it  into  account  that  Miss 
Scarlett  would  ultimately  marry,  and  that  she  would 
probably  live  with  her  husband  in  that  house,  big 
enough  for  a  hotel  and  grand  enough  for  a  queen. 
Once,  when  you  were  there,  I  took  you  into  the  suite 
she  was  to  occupy.  Had  you  been  in  a  better  frame 
of  mind  I  would  have  shown  you  yours." 

"  Mine  !"  gasped  Douglass. 

"Yes,  as  it  has  turned  out.  The  suite  that  her 
husband  should  have  is  on  the  same  floor  as  hers, 
separated  only  by  a  hallway  that  can  be  used  or  dis- 
carded at  will.  It  has  four  rooms,  which  may  be 
denominated  parlor,  study,  bedroom  and  bath.  If 
monsieur  comes  in  late  at  night  he  can  enter  without 
his  wife's  having  the  least  idea  when  he  returns. 
Between  his  suite  and  hers  there  are  two  doors  at 
some  distance  apart,  which  can  be  locked  on  both 
sides  !  If  he  wishes  to  visit  madame,  he  must  pass 
through  the  corridor.  In  short,  he  is  as  independent 
of  unwished-for  visitors  as  the  Grand  Mogul." 

Maybury  grew  paler  as  he  heard  this  extended 
description.  Every  inducement  was  to  be  held  out 
to  him,  it  seemed,  to  do  as  he  ought  not.  But 
would  never  let  those  opportunities  influence  him. 
No,  he  would  be  true  to  that  lovely  girl,  in  act  and 
thought,  if  he  ever  had  the  happiness  to  call  her  his 
wife.  This  he  did  not  care  to  say  to  Bayley.  Fear- 
ing that  he  would  not  look  well  in  the  rftle  of  a  sen- 


800  YOI7NG  MISS  GIDDY. 

timentalist,  he  received  what  his  friend  said  in  the 
most  discreet  silence. 

Convinced  that  he  ought  not  to  delay  too  long  in 
seeking  an  interview  with  his  future  bride,  he  wrote 
her  a  brief  note  early  in  the  afternoon,  saying  that  he 
hoped  to  find  her  at  home  that  evening,  when,  he 
added  significantly,  he  wished  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
her  alone.  It  was  nine  o'clock  when  he  called,  giv- 
ing time  for  the  dinner  to  be  over,  and  for  the  Sena- 
tor to  take  a  run  out  to  the  residence  of  the  mayor, 
for  whom  he  had  conceived  a  warm  liking.  Miss 
Flora  met  him  with  her  old  sweetness  and  cordiality, 
and  for  an  hour  they  talked  of  nothings,  after  the 
way  of  people  who  postpone  as  long  as  possible  the 
thing  that  is  nearest  their  hearts, 

But  at  last  he  came  to  it.  I  do  not  intend  to  give 
in  detail  the  words  he  used  nor  make  a  verbal  report 
of  her  replies.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  he  proposed 
for  her  hand  and  was  accepted,  with  the  stipulation 
that  the  time  for  the  marriage  must  not  be  fixed  at 
present,  must,  in  fact,  be  left  entirely  to  her.  She 
gave  as  a  partial  reason  her  ill-health  and  also  pleaded 
her  youth  and  her  comparatively  slight  acquaintance 
with  the  more  important  affairs  of  life.  She  would 
be  his  wife,  yes.  She  was  bound  to  him  by  a  solemn 
compact  which  she  would  consider  sacred  ;  but  he 
must  not  hasten  the  day  unduly. 

And  to  this  he  agreed,  no  more  in  haste  than  she. 
And  they  sat  there  till  a  late  hour,  talking  of  the 
things  that  come  naturally  with  matrimonial  pro- 
jects, their  voices  hushed.  And  he  had  been  gone 
for  some  time,  and  was  again  in  the  quiet  of  his  own 
room,  when  it  occurred  to  him  that  he  had  not  kissed 


••ESTHER  STRANGE!  OOOD  000!"  201 

her  once,  that  he  had  not  even  taken  her  hand  a 
single  moment  in  his  own  ! 

There  had  certainly  been  no  time  when  either  of 
those  acts  seemed  the  proper  thing  to  do.  He  had 
not  thought  of  them  in  any  part  of  the  momentous 
interview.  Miss  Scarlett  had  been  so  calmly  reserved, 
had  met  his  requests  so  frankly,  with  no  pretense, 
or  dropping  of  the  eyelids,  or  hectic  flushes,  or  pal- 
pitating breast.  He  had  never  offered  marriage 
to  a  girl  before,  but  he  had  formed  ideas  from  novels 
and  theatres  that  she  might  exclaim,  "O,  Douglass  !" 
and  do  a  number  of  other  things  quite  opposite  to 
Flora's. 

When  he  was  saying  the  fateful  words  she  looked 
him  as  steadily  in  the  eyes  as  if  he  were  asking  her 
to  go  up  the  river  on  a  pleasure  trip.  He  knew  she 
would  have  looked  and  acted  precisely  the  same  had 
she  felt  it  best  to  tell  him  "  no"  instead  of  "  yes." 
There  was  never  a  girl  more  direct  and  truthful  in 
every  thought  and  deed.  He  could  not  doubt  that 
she  cared  a  great  deal  for  him.  She  had  chosen  him, 
with  her  father's  advice,  out  of  all  the  men  on  earth, 
and  she  might  have  had  almost  any  one.  It  was  not 
romantic,  and  the  marriage  would  probably  be 
uneventful.  But,  under  all  the  circumstances,  would 
it  not  be  better  so  ? 

The  object  of  the  mission  to  New  Orleans  being 
now  accomplished,  there  was  no  reason  why  the 
Senator  should  longer  remain  away  from  Washing- 
ton, where  his  presence  was  wanted  by  his  party  on 
a  vote  that  might  be  a  close  one.  He  therefore  said 
to  his  daughter  and  to  Mr.  Bayley  that  the  sooner 
they  set  out  for  the  North  the  better,  to  which  they 
both  agreed.  A  consultation  with  the  Architect 


902  YOUSO   Mlflg    GIDDT. 

was  productive  of  another  decision,  of  some  import- 
ance to  the  future  son-in-law.  Mr.  May  bury  received 
one  morning  the  following  letter  : 

"Mr  DEAR  DOUGLASS: 

"  There  is  no  need  of  circumlocution  "between  us.  I  wish 
lo  make  you  comfortable  in  a  pecuniary  way,  pending  your 
marriage.  If  you  will  permit  me  to  do  so,  I  will  place  a  sum 
with  your  attorney,  Mr.  Coke,  sufficient  to  enable  you  to 
live  as  befits  your  condition,  and  no  one  but  ourselves  need 
be  the  wiser.  Henceforth  I  shall  look  upon  you  as  my  son, 
and  trust  you  will  honor  me  with  equal  regard. 

"  Another  matter.     We  intend   to  start  for  Washington 
to-morrow  evening,  and  trust  you  will  make  one  of  the  party. 
Then,   if  it  meets  your  views,  an  announcement  of  youf 
engagement  can  be  put  into  the  newspapers  there. 
"  Truly  Your  Friend, 

"  AUGUSTUS  SCARLETT." 

Maybury  saw  no  objection  at  all  to  accepting  the 
<r»oney.  Indeed  he  was  much  relieved  that  it  was  to 
*ome  in  this  way,  for  he  had  b^gun  to  wonder  just 
kovf  he  should  raise  a  loan  for  temporary  use.  But 
he  did  not  like  to  have  anything  more  to  do  with 
Blackstone  Coke,  if  he  could  help  it  ;  and  in  his  reply 
he  suggested  to  Mr.  Scarlett  that  he  would  prefer  the 
money  placed  with  Littleton  Chitty,  Esq.,  of  No.  — , 
Broadway,  if  it  was  all  the  same  to  him.  This  being 
satisfactory,  the  arrangement  was  made,  and  Mr. 
Chitty  was  nearly  thrown  into  a  fit,  a  few  days  later, 
by  receiving  «in  express  package  containing  $10,000 
in  cash  and  $240,000  in  securities,  with  an  order  to 
plac<J  them  to  the  account  of  Douglass  Maybury,  and 
to  keep  the  transaction  secret,  even  from  his  office 
clerks.  His  copy  of  the  Home  Journal  with  an 
elaborate  and  highly  ornate  announcement  of  the 


GOOJ>  oootw  903 

engagement,  explained  things,  however,  and  the  next 
time  he  met  Maybury  he  showed  no  indication  of 
knowing  anything  whatever  about  him  that  was  new 
or  peculiar. 

Maybury  was  obliged  to  make  one  more  visit  to 
Mr.  Coke's  office,  and  he  did  so  the  very  day  after 
arriving  at  New  York,  two  weeks  from  the  time  he 
left  New  Orleans.  It  occurred  to  him  that  the  clos- 
ing of  his  account  must  finish  the  remittances  to 
Esther  Strange,  and  he  wondered  if  she  had  been  in 
any  way  inconvenienced.  Mr.  Coke  told  him,  witl? 
his  usual  dignity,  that  he  had  honored  the  last  bill 
received  from  the  managers  of  the  institution  where 
Miss  Strange  was  quartered,  and  that,  under  ordin- 
ary circumstances,  another  would  arrive  in  a  few 
days. 

"  What  did  you  intend  to  do  with  such  a  bill  ?" 
inquired  Douglass,  growing  hot  under  the  collar. 

"  I  presume  the  natural  course  would  be  to  send 
it  to  you." 

"  Knowing  that  I  probably  would  not  have  a  cent 
to  meet  it  with  ?" 

"That  is  hardly  my  business,"  said  Mr.  Coke. 
"Besides  —  excuse  me  —  are  you  not  soon  to  be 
married  ?" 

It  was  difficult  to  keep  from  taking  that  old  man 
by  the  hair. 

"  That  certainly  is  not  your  business,"  said  Doug- 
lass, with  spirit.  "If  you  receive  any  bills  for  me 
hereafter,  you  will  oblige  by  forwarding  them  to 
Mr.  Littleton  Chitty,  who  now  has  charge  of  my 
affairs." 

It  would  have  been  less  painful  to  the  old  lawyer 
had  Maybury  assaulted  him.  Chitty  was  a  former 


JO*  Totnsra  MISS  orour.  \ 

clerk,  who  had  of  late  taken  quite  a  number  of  his 
best  customers  from  him.  Between  the  men  there 
were  the  most  bitter  feelings.  Coke  turned  several 
unbecoming  colors  as  he  heard  the  news,  and  his 
enemy  was  well  avenged. 

Fearing,  however,  that  the  bills  for  Esther's  school- 
ing might  get  "  lost"  between  the  rival  offices,  Mr. 
Chitty  was  told  to  send  word  to  the  principal  of  the 
change  in  paymasters,  and  he  had  also  to  be  informed 
of  the  entire  scheme  by  which  Esther  was  made  to 
believe  herself  the  beneficiary  of  some  unknown 
philanthropist.  With  the  wisdom  of  a  true  lawyer, 
Mr.  Chitty  did  not  look  in  the  least  surprised,  nor 
give  one  wink  of  either  eyelash  during  the  somewhat 
novel  explanation. 

"Let  —  me — see,"  said  Douglass,  meditatively. 
"  Please  tell  me  my  exact  balance  ?" 

He  had  drawn  very  little  so  far,  and  Mr.  Chitty 
was  able  to  inform  him  a  second  later  that  he  had 
$9,275  in  the  Second  National  bank  to  his  credit. 

"  And  then,  of  course,"  he  added,  "  there  are  the 
securities,  you  know,  all  of  them  easily  convertible 
at  any  time." 

Maybury  nodded,  and  said  he  had  forgotten  the 
exact  amount  of  the  latter.  When  he  heard  that  it 
was  $240,000  he  came  very  near  fainting  in  his  sur- 
prise. He  had  never  dreamed  of  such  a  sum,  and 
wondered  as  he  walked  out  whether  he  could  really 
be  worth  so  much  to  anybody  as  the  Senator  seemed 
to  think. 

He  went  into  an  adjacent  wine-room  and  drank 
something  to  steady  his  nerves.  The  liquor  gave 
him  confidence.  It  went  directly  to  his  bump  of 
self-esteem.  In  half  an  hour  he  had  come  to  think 


"ESTHim  8TBANOE  !  GOOD  QOD  I"       205 

that  the  value  Mr.  Scarlett  had  set  on  him  was,  on 

the  whole,  rather  low. 

Strolling  across  Madison  Square  he  met  Chitty, 
who  stopped  him  with  an  affable,  but  by  no  means 
familiar  smile. 

"I  forgot  to  ask  you,"  said  the  lawyer,  "how 
much  I  am  to  pay  out  on  account  of  the  lady  who  is 
attending  the  boarding-school." 

"  The  lady  !"  exclaimed  Douglass.  "  Oh,  you 
mean  the  child  !  That  is  a  matter  which  I  leave 
entirely  to  her  teachers.  There  is  to  be  no  limit 
whatever." 

The  disgusted  Mr.  Coke  could  not  bear  to  have 
the  Chitty  office  triumph  over  his  without  striking 
back  in  some  way.  Thus  far  he  had  kept  the  secret 
of  Esther's  real  friend  from  every  one  not  entitled 
to  know.  His  only  questionable  conduct  toward 
Douglass  had  been  letting  Mr.  Bayley  into  the 
exact  condition  of  the  young  man's  finances,  and 
apprising  him  when  his  property  reached  its  last 
gasp.  Now  he  began  to  fear  that  the  influence 
which  his  late  client  had  in  the  Scarlett  household 
would  result  in  taking  the  whole  of  the  Senator's 
legal  business  out  of  his  hands  and  conveying  it  into 
those  of  his  hated  rival.  With  this  alarm  upon  him 
he  called  on  Mr.  Bayley  and  revealed,  haltingly  and 
after  some  urging,  all  that  he  knew  of  the  matter  of 
the  young  girl. 

The  Architect  was  unquestionably  interested.  He 
heard  the  story  with  the  utmost  attention. 

*'  How  did  you  happen  to  come  to  me  with  this  ?* 
he  asked,  when  he  had  the  whole  of  it  in  his  posses- 
sion. 

"  Why,  you  brought  me  to  the  notice  of  the  Senator. 


206  TODNG  MISS 


and  I  knew  you  were  high  in  his  good  will  and  con- 
fidence. This  is  a  matter  that  you  ought  to  know, 
now  that  the  engagement  of  his  daughter  to  Mr. 
Maybury  is  announced." 

Mr.  Bayley  looked  very  thoughtful. 

"You  know  of  nothing  else  between  them  ?"  he 
said,  interrogatively.  "  Come,  do  not  hesitate  to 
tell  me,  if  you  do." 

"  I  do  not  know  of  anything,"  answered  the  lawyer, 
shrewdly,  "  but  —  is  it  likely  —  you  understand  the 
world  —  " 

"  Yes,  yes,  I  understand,"  was  the  quick  reply. 
."  Leave  this  matter  entirely  to  me,  Mr.  Coke.  If 
you  mention  it  to  another  soul  it  will  spoil  every- 
thing." 

'The  lawyer  promised,  and  hoped  Mr.  Bayley  would 
continue  to  be  his  friend  with  Mr.  Scarlett.  He  said 
Mr.  Maybury  had  withdrawn  his  business  from  him, 
presumably  on  account  of  his  action  in  not  notifying 
him  when  his  funds  were  getting  low,  according  to 
Mr.  Bayley's  request.  The  Architect  promised  to  do 
all  he  could,  and  the  lawyer  departed,  half  con- 
vinced that  he  would  have  done  about  as  well  to 
remain  away. 

"  Esther  Strange  !"  exclaimed  Bayley,  aloud,  when 
he  was  alone  again.  "  Esther  Strange  '.  Good  God  !" 


XTSa    SCARLKTT   PROPOSES   MAJiRIAOE.  SOT 

CHAPTER   XX. 

MISS    SCARLETT     PROPOSES    MARRIAG*. 

A  wedding  tour  is  supposed  to  be  almos*  a.  neces- 
sity in  circles  that  expect  to  be  dignified  by  *.he  name 
of  fashionable.  It  may  be  to  Europe  and  -t  may  be 
to  a  nearer  point,  but  it  must  be  to  some  place  at  a 
distance  from  the  homes  of  the  "  happy  couple."  To 
settle  down  in  the  house  where  they  tire  to  live 
immediately  after  the  ceremony  that  unites  them  is 
to  the  last  degree  bourgeois.  And  yet  the  son  of 
Judge  Maybury  and  the  daughter  of  Senator  Scarlett 
did  exactly  this  thing. 

The  time  for  the  wedding  was  set  with  surprising 
suddenness  to  begin  with.  The  engagement,  it  will 
be  remembered,  was  entered  into  with  the  stipulation 
on  the  part  of  the  lady  that  she  was  to  be  allowed  to 
name  the  day.  Maybury,  after  he  found  himself  in 
possession  of  a  comfortable  fortune,  paid  in  advance, 
was  not  in  the  least  haste  to  deliver  the  goods  con- 
tracted for.  He  called  upon  Miss  Flora  two  or  three 
times  a  week,  went  to  ride  with  her  in  the  Park, 
accompanied  her  with  her  father  and  Madame  Sac- 
card  to  the  theatre,  and  acted  generally  as  an  engaged 
young  man  should  act,  except  that  his  personal 
relations  with  her  never  passed  beyond  the  cordiality 
to  be  found  among  very  good  friends.  He  reached 
his  wedding-day  without  ever  having  offered  to  kiss 
her  ;  but  there  seemed  nothing  remarkable  to  him 
in  that.  She  was  not  the  sort  of  woman  one  fumbles 
and  crushes. 


208  TODNO   MISS   GIDDY. 

The  spring  entirely  passed  away  and  the  water- 
ing-place season  was  at  its  height.  Saratoga  was 
a  favorite  resort  of  the  Senator,  and  for  several 
years  he  had  retained  the  same  suite  of  rooms  at  the 
Grand  Union.  This  year  Flora  was  with  him  there 
part  of  the  time,  though  the  new  mansion  on  Fifth 
avenue  was  visited  by  her  nearly  every  week,  for  one 
reason  and  another.  Her  days  were,  in  fact,  about 
equally  divided  between  the  two  places.  As  of  yore, 
she  did  exactly  as  she  pleased.  When  she  traveled 
her  maid  and  Mme.  Saccard  were  always  with  her. 
And  she  also  had  to  some  extent  the  services  of  a 
new  retainer  of  the  family,  a  young  man  who 
bought  the  tickets  and  saw  that  the  carriage  was 
ready,  and  did  the  sort  of  things  for  her  that  Arnold, 
the  valet,  did  for  her  father. 

The  name  of  this  young  man  was  Austin  Strange. 

Flora  was  not  yet  by  any  means  well.  Her  doctor 
said  so  and  her  appearance  confirmed  his  opinion. 
She  was  apt  to  grow  faint  in  unexpected  places,  and 
then  it  was  convenient  to  have  a  strong  youth  at 
hand  who  could  support  her  with  his  arm.  More 
than  once  Austin  carried  her  bodily  up  the  front 
steps  of  her  house  when  the  arrival  was  at  night, 
for  by  daylight  she  would  rather  have  endured  the 
slow  support  of  the  domestics  than  been  seen  in  this 
predicament.  She  was  a  girl  of  tender  heart,  unwill- 
ing that  any  one  should  suffer  on  her  account.  Time 
and  again  she  said  to  Mme.  Saccard  or  Margot, 
"  Austin  is  stronger  than  you  ;  I  think  you  had  best 
let  him  help  me.  And  the  young  man  was  so  gentle, 
so  careful,  so  willing,  that  they  all  agreed  with  her 
that  it  was  best  to  let  him  bear  the  heavy  loads. 

It   was  a  rather  peculiar  transposition  from  the 


HISS   SCARLETT   PROPOSES    MARRIAGE.  209 

bench  of  a  wood-carver  to  this  situation,  but  in 
America  these  things  happen  frequently.  Flora  had 
noticed  the  youth  at  his  work,  during  the  years  when 
her  father's  house  was  being  built,  and  had  grown 
to  fancy  him.  After  the  last  nail  was  driven  she 
spoke  to  Mr.  Bayley  about  him.  They  were  talking 
in  relation  to  her  illness,  and  the  need  of  some 
reliable  person  of  the  other  sex  to  accompany  Mme. 
Saccard  and  Margot  whenever  she  traveled.  MP 
Bayley  had  offered  to  try  to  find  a  suitable  young 
man,  and  had  said  he  would  advertise  in  the  news- 
papers, wording  the  announcement  in  such  a  way 
that  applicants  would  not  know  for  whose  service 
they  were  required.  It  was  then  that  Flora  seemed 
possessed  with  a  sudden  thought,  and  mentioned  the 
name  of  the  carpenter. 

Mr.  Bayley  said  at  first  that  he  knew  the  young 
man  very  well,  but  doubted  his  capacity  for  the 
position.  But  when  she  brought  to  his  mind  th* 
reliability  Austin  had  displayed,  his  unvarying 
politeness,  and,  above  all,  his  supreme  quality  of 
taciturnity,  the  Architect  ceased  to  object,  and  said 
he  would  take  pleasure  in  speaking  to  him.  The 
fact  that  Miss  Scarlett  had  set  her  mind  upon  the 
youth  was  quite  enough  for  him,  and  his  pretended 
hesitation  was  only  to  make  her  feel  that  she  had 
convinced  him  unwillingly.  Most  people,  if  you 
ever  thought  of  it,  like  to  believe  they  have  shown 
the  best  of  an  argument. 

Austin  appeared  as  stolid  as  ever  when  the  Archi- 
tect went  to  him  with  his  offer.  How  much  was  he 
to  receive  ?  That  was  the  first  question  he  asked, 
and  it  gave  evidence  of  being  the  only  one  he  cared 
to  propound.  This  being  settled,  on  a  liberal  basis. 


31®  YOtJNO   illii    GUDDT. 

there  was  no  more  to  be  said.  He  had  as  lief  assist 
in  the  care  of  a  lady  as  anything  else,  so  long  as  he 
was  well  paid  for  it.  It  would  be  a  change  ;  and  he 
could  return  to  his  trade  at  any  time. 

The  only  person  who  did  not  like  the  new  metier 
of  the  carpenter  was  Charles  Scarlett.  He  had  been 
rather  intimate  with  the  Strange  family — father  and 
son — and  had  passed  a  good  many  evenings  at  their 
residence,  still  in  the  flat  where  we  first  found  them. 
There  is  always  something  different  in  the  position  of 
a  personal  servant  from  that  of  a  mechanic  or  clerk. 
With  all  his  liberal  ideas,  Charles  could  not  help 
wishing  his  friend  had  not  accepted  a  place  which, 
in  his  opinion,  lowered  him.  He  was  as  affable  as 
ever  after  Austin  entered  upon  his  new  occupation, 
but  all  intimacy  ceased  between  them.  Try  as  he 
might  he  could  not  feel  toward  the  courier  as  he  had 
toward  the  independent  artisan. 

As  for  Austin  he  did  not  mind  this  ;  did  he  mind 
anything?  He  attended  to  his  new  duties,  which 
were  light  enough,  took  his  wages  and  closed  his 
mouth.  When  Miss  Flora  had  need  of  him  he  was 
always  at  her  service.  When  she  had  none  he  went 
his  way,  or  remained  in  his  own  room,  working  on  a 
piece  of  wood  that  he  kept  for  practice.  His  taste 
in  carving  was  undoubtedly  good,  and  his  liking 
for  tools  was  the  only  pronounced  trait  he  evinced. 

It  was  not  the  idea  of  Senator  Scarlett  that  his 
daughter's  marriage  should  be  postponed  indefinitely. 
While  he  wanted  to  make  the  time  agreeable  to  her, 
he  knew  very  well  that  there  were  many  slips  be- 
tween the  cup  and  the  lip.  He  learned — through 
Bayley— that  Mr.  Maybury's  diffidence  was  due  to  a 
request  of  Flora's  and  that,  while  in  no  haste  himself, 


SCARLETT    PROPOSES    MARHIA.OB.  211 

he  was  willing  to  leave  the  matter  entirely  to  her,  as 
he  had  agreed.  Seeing  that  the  pressure  must  there- 
fore be  brought  entirely  upon  his  daughter  he  began, 
as  gently  as  possible,  to  urge  the  setting  of  a  definite 
date.  This  was  during  the  month  of  August,  when 
she  was  with  him  at  the  Grand  Union. 

But  this  the  girl  could  not  be  persuaded  to  do. 
Her  health,  she  said — and  Dr.  Parton  indorsed  her 
statement — was  very  irregular.  On  Monday  she 
might  be  as  red  as  a  rose,  and  on  the  following 
Thursday  as  pale  as  a  water-lily.  Her  father,  she 
reminded  him,  had  secured  her  consent  to  the  en- 
gagement  by  the  express  stipulation  that  he  would 
ask  no  haste. 

To  this  the  Senator  protested  that  he  had  no  inten- 
tion to  push  matters.  If  a  date  was  only  agreed 
upon  and  announced,  even  if  it  was  as  late  as  Novem- 
ber or  December,  he  would  be  quite  content.  Once, 
when  he  had  argued  with  her  on  this  point  longer 
than  usual,  and  perhaps  with  more  warmth,  she  burst 
into  tears  and  he  was  in  a  state  of  distress.  He  went 
to  Mr.  Bayley  and  revealed  what  had  taken  place,  and 
the  Architect  agreed  with  him,  very  unwillingly,  that 
nothing  more  could  be  done  at  present. 

Then,  when  no  one  expected  it,  there  came  a  sud- 
den change.  Within  two  weeks  from  the  day  Flora 
had  declared  that  the  next  December  would  be  a  too 
early  date  for  her  wedding,  she  came  to  her  father  of 
her  own  accord  and  told  him  she  was  ready  to  obey 
his  wishes.  He  began  to  protest  that  he  had  entire- 
ly altered  his  mind,  and  to  admit  that  her  health  was 
not  good  enough,  but  she  stopped  him. 

She  had  thought  it  all   over,  and  he  was  right. 


lit  YOUNG  MISS  OIDDT. 

She  wanted  to  be  married,  and  without  unnecessary 
delay.  In  October?  No,  in  September.  As  early 
in  the  month  as  possible.  And  she  did  not  want  a 
formal  wedding,  either.  She  wished  the  quietest 
kind  of  a  ceremony. 

Indulgent  as  Augustus  Scarlett  had  always  been 
with  his  daughter,  it  was  some  time  before  he  could 
fcring  himself  to  consent  to  this  arrangement.  He 
had  imagined  the  finest  wedding  that  New  York  had 
ever  seen,  such  as  might  befit  the  heiress  of  millions, 
followed  by  a  reception  to  which  all  of  the  upper  ten 
thousand  would  be  obliged  to  come.  The  prestige 
of  the  bridegroom,  if  not  the  wealth  of  the  bride, 
would  have  filled  his  palace  with  representatives  of 
the  first  families  of  the  country.  The  wedding-day 
would  have  been  the  proudest  he  had  ever  known 
since  he  walked  out  of  his  father's  hovel  with  all  his 
worldly  goods  in  a  small  package  under  his  arm. 
But  Flora  was  accustomed  to  having  her  way  and  he 
could  do  nothing  with  her.  She  would  be  married 
quietly,  and  she  would  not  be  married  any  other  way. 

"  Have  you  consulted  Mr.  Maybury  ?"  asked  the 
Senator,  in  desperation.  "  Are  you  certain  he  is 
willing  to  dispense  with  all  ostentation  on  such  a 
momentous  occasion  ?" 

"Mr.  Maybury," said  Flora,  turning  slightly  paler, 
"  regards  this  matter  too  much  in  the  light  of  a  busi- 
ness venture  to  hold  any  opinions  contrary  to  mine." 

Mr.  Scarlett's  cheek  also  lost  its  color  as  he  heard 
these  words. 

**  You  wrong  him,"  he  began.  "  He  loves  you 
devotedly.  He — " 

**  Will  do  as  I  wish."  she  interrupted,  as  if  weary 


SCARLETT   PROPOSES   MARRIAOS.  913 

of  the  conversation.  "  I  have  written  to  him.  He 
will  arrive  to-night.  Do  not  put  any  obstacles  in 
our  way.  Quiet  weddings  are  not  unprecedented. 
That's  a  good  papa,  say  no  more  about  it." 

The  natural  place  for  the  Senator  to  go  with  such 
a  matter  was  to  the  office  of  Mr.  David  Bayley  and 
he  repaired  thither  with  dispatch.  Miss  Flora  had, 
however,  anticipated  this  move,  and  prepared  the 
Architect  for  it.  After  hearing,  as  if  for  the  first 
time,  the  news  which  the  Senator  brought,  Mr. 
Bayley  affected  an  attitude  of  deep  interest,  and 
relapsed  into  silent  meditation  for  several  minutes. 
Emerging  at  last  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the 
young  lady  was  the  one  most  interested,  and  that  it 
would  be  unwise  to  attempt  to  control  her  actions. 
The  ill-health  of  the  bride  would  answer  all  ques- 
tions as  to  the  reason  for  leaving  the  beaten  paths. 
When  Mr.  Scarlett  left  his  adviser  he  went  straight 
to  Flora  and  told  her  he  would  do  as  she  wished. 

Mr.  Maybury  had  become  quite  used  to  being  en- 
gaged. The  more  he  had  seen  of  his  fiancee  the 
better  he  had  learned  to  like  her.  He  had  come  to 
an  early  conclusion  that  she  would  not  be  the  most 
disagreeable  woman  in  the  world.  He  believed  he 
could  endure  a  good  deal  of  that  pretty  face,  that 
sweet  voice,  those  delicate  ways.  He  had  had  his 
time  at  wild  living,  why  not  settle  down  into  a 
model,  home-loving  husband  ?  He  would  have 
wealth  enough,  in  all  conscience,  not  a  bad  thing  to 
consider.  She  would  not  be  likely  to  hold  him  by  a 
severe  chain,  like  a  woman  who  was  all  passion.  He 
could  still  belong  to  his  clubs,  and  get  an  occasional 
evening  with  the  "  boys,"  so  as  not  to  break  off 
everything  too  suddenly. 


214  YOUNG  MISS  oinwr. 

He  used  to  think  of  these  things  as  he  came  and 
went,  that  spring  and  summer,  to  pay  her  irregular 
visits.  But  when  he  received  word  that  his  time  had 
come,  he  had  a  brief  fright,  like  a  prisoner  who  is 
aroused  from  sleep  and  told  that  the  guillotine  is 
prepared. 

Miss  Scarlett's  letter  was  not  in  the  least  ambigu- 
ous. It  seemed  the  height  of  frankness,  a  quality 
that  he  admired  above  all  others  in  her. 

"  You  have  left  the  date  of  our  marriage  to  me," 
she  said,  in  effect,  "and  I  have  postponed  it  in  the 
hope  that  I  should  fully  recover  my  health  before 
giving  myself  to  you.  That  hope  grows  no  more 
likely  to  be  realized  as  the  time  passes  away.  I  have 
therefore  concluded  that  we  had  best  wait  no  longer. 
As  soon  as  you  are  ready  I  will  be  your  wife.  Under 
the  circumstances,  however,  a  public  wedding  and 
reception  seem  to  me  undesirable." 

From  this  she  went  on  to  explain  the  situation  as 
unreservedly  as  if  he  were  already  her  husband  ;  and 
when  he  had  finished  her  letter  he  felt  that  there  was 
no  reply  possible  except  that  he  would  be  in  New 
York  without  delay. 

New  York  was  rather  injured  in  its  feelings  when 
it  learned  that  this  marriage  had  taken  place  as 
quietly  as  if  the  participants  were  only  common  peo- 
ple in  whom  Society  had  not  the  greatest  interest. 

Several  days  before  the  ceremony,  Douglass  was 
shown  his  elegantly  furnished  apartments  by  David 
Bayley  in  person,  and  its  connections  with  those  of 
his  future  spouse  were  explained  with  the  delight 
that  no  one  but  an  originator  feels. 

"  You  can  be  as  closely  allied  in  matrimony  as  in 
a  mechanic's  domicile,"  laughed  the  Architect,  "  or 


SOAJHJCTT    raOPC*ES    MARBlAaX.  215 


you  can  be  as  separate  as  is  the  state  of  royal  per- 
sonages. Throw  these  doors  in  the  corridor  open, 
and  your  apartments  become  one  suite.  Shut  them 
and  lock  them,  and  these  little  tinkling  bells  will 
have  to  be  touched  to  announce  your  wish  to  see 
each  other.  It  all  lies  with  you  two.  While  the 
honeymoon  is  in  progress  I  presume  these  locks  will 
be  superfluous.  When  it  has  ended,  you  will  prob- 
ably thank  me  a  thousand  times  for  my  forethought." 

Douglass  put  his  hand  thoughtfully  on  the  shoul- 
der of  his  companion. 

"  I  shall  be  true  to  her,  Dave,"  he  said,  impres- 
sively. 

"  To  be  sure,"  replied  the  other,  with  a  pretense 
of  being  shocked  at  the  insinuation.  "But  it  might 
happen — once  in  a  year  or  two — that  you  came  home 
a  little  mellow,  and  did  not  care  to  have  your  wife 
see  you  until  you  had  rested  overnight.  In  that  case 
it  would  be  agreeable  to  have  this  separate  entrance 
to  your  chamber,  and  be  able  to  swear  the  next  day 
that  you  slept  so  soundly  that  you  heard  nothing, 
in  case  she  happened  to  ring.  Those  things  will 
arrange  themselves  all  right.  You  can  be  depended 
upon  to  use  judgment.  A  man  doesn't  change  all 
of  his  habits  in  an  hour,  but  I'll  risk  you,  as  I  hare 
always  said." 

They  walked  through  the  little  corridor,  which 
Bayley  jokingly  called  the  "  Bridge  of  Sighs,"  into 
Miss  Scarlett's  apartments,  which  had  been  prepared 
for  her  coming  husband's  inspection.  Everything 
was  as  dainty  as  if  meant  for  the  residence  of  a  fairy. 
There  was  a  scent  of  some  unknown  perfume  in  the 
air  that  almost  took  Douglass's  breath  away. 

"  You  told  me  once,"  he  said,  when  he  had  looked 


21$  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

all  he  cared  to,  and  was  again  on  the  other  side  of 
the  "  bridge,"  "  of  a  valet — a  Swiss — that  you  could 
recommend.  Is  he  available  now  ?" 

Mr.  Bayley  laughed  good-humoredly. 

"  I'm  sorry  to  say  he  is  at  present  in  the  employ  of 
one  of  the  younger  Vanderschmidts,"  he  replied. 
"  He  could  be  bribed  away,  I  suppose  ;  but  will  that 
be  necessary  ?  What  is  it  you  need  ?  Some  one  to 
accompany  you  to  the  club  and  back,  and  give  you 
a  quiet  tip  if  you  are  getting  frisky  ?  There  are 
plenty  of  fellows  who  could  do  that  for  you." 

"  It's  no  laughing  matter,"  said  Douglass.  "  I 
have  resolved  to  behave  superlatively  well  after  I 
am  married.  A  fellow  who  would  steer  me  for  a 
few  months  would  be  of  the  greatest  value.  After 
a  while  I  ought  to  be  able  to  go  it  alone  ;  but  at  first 
— well,  you  know  what  a  fool  I  am,  as  well  as  I  can 
tell  you." 

The  Architect  did  not  take  the  pains  to  dispute 
his  friend.  He  thought  him  over-cautious,  but  he 
did  not  intend  to  tell  him  so.  If  he  wanted  a  male 
escort  there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  not  have 
one.  He  began  to  rack  his  memory.  Wasn't  there 
some  one  he  could  think  of  ?  And  an  idea  came  to 
him  suddenly. 

"  I  know  of  a  young  man,"  he  said,  in  response  to 
Maybury's  inquiring  looks.  "  You  know  him,  too. 
He's  got  some  of  the  best  qualities  for  this  sort  of 
thing.  I  speak  of — what  the  deuce  is  his  name  ? — 
young  Strange  !" 

Douglass  turned  away  a  moment,  fearful  lest  he 
should  betray  the  special  interest  that  this  name  had 
for  him. 


MISS    SCARLETT    PROPOSES   MARRIAOB.  217 

"  The  carpenter  ?"  he  asked,  inspecting  a  carving 
on  a  window. 

"Well,  he  was  one  once,"  said  Bayley.  "He 
carved  that  very  piece  of  wood  you  are  looking  at." 
Maybury  straightened  himself  up  and  looked  else- 
where, as  he  heard  this  announcement.  "  But  for  a 
long  time,  you  know,  he  has  been  doing  a  sort  of 
courier's  duty  for  Miss  Scarlett.  We  took  him  to 
New  Orleans  with  us,  and  he  proved  an  invaluable 
assistant.  The  Senator  has  raised  his  wages  three 
times  since  he  first  engaged  him." 

Ah  !  It  was  explained  now,  the  presence  of  Aus- 
tin on  St.  Charles  street,  on  that  March  evening  ! 
Douglass  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief. 

"  When  you  are  married,  Miss  Scarlett — I  should 
say,  your  wife — won't  need  him  any  longer,"  contin- 
ued Bayley,  "and  he's  just  the  sort  of  man  you 
want." 

Was  he,  indeed  !  Douglass  did  not  believe  it,  but 
he  thought  better  to  say  nothing  definite  at  the  time. 
He  remarked  that  he  should  not  need  any  one  at 
first,  and  that  there  was  time  enough  to  think  of  such 
things  later. 

There  was  not  even  to  be  a  wedding  tour,  at  pres- 
ent. Flora  did  not  feel  able  to  travel,  and  the  heat 
of  early  September  was  too  great  to  make  a  journey 
comfortable.  The  marriage  service  was  read  in  the 
parlors  of  the  Scarlett  mansion,  in  the  early  evening, 
with  no  one  present  but  the  Senator,  Charles,  Mme. 
Saccard  and  Austin  Strange.  The  latter  was  called 
in  as  a  witness  at  the  last  moment,  on  a  suggestion 
that  one  other  person  not  a  relation  to  the  contract- 
ing parties  was  wanted.  Austin  was  evidently 
unused  to  anything  of  this  sort,  for  be  was  without 


SIS  TOOV»   MUC   OIDDT. 

color  and  trembled  visibly.  It  required  the  kind 
and  reassuring  smile  of  the  bride — thoughtful  of  her 
inferiors  even  at  this  moment — to  enable  him  to 
avoid  attracting  attention. 

Flora  stood  the  ordeal  of  the  marriage  very  well 
indeed,  but  after  the  clergyman  and  the  others  had 
left  the  parlor,  and  she  was  alone  with  Douglass,  she 
gave  signs  of  a  collapse.  Evading  the  kiss  which 
her  husband  would  have  given  her,  and  yet  in  such 
a  way  that  he  could  take  no  offense,  she  remarked 
that  her  head  was  dizzy  and  she  wanted  to  be  alone. 

"  Go  to  your  room  and  let  Margot  take  care  of 
you,"  he  whispered,  tenderly.  "  By-and-by  I  will 
come." 

"  Not  to-night — do  not  come  to-night,  Douglass," 
she  replied,  faintly.  "  I  am — indeed — quite  ill.  To- 
morrow, Douglass— not  to-night." 

At  her  request  he  then  rang  for  Margot  and  saw 
her  disappear  with  the  maid. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"  DO   YOU    THINK,    MY    DEAR  ?" 

Probably  it  is  seldom  agreeable  for  a  newly-wedded 
groom  to  be  separated  from  his  bride  on  the  night 
following  the  ceremony  which  has,  in  the  language 
$f  the  law,  made  them  one.  In  the  case  of  Douglass 
Maybury,  however,  the  disappearance  of  his  wife  in 
the  manner  just  related  was  a  positive  relief.  His 


"DO  YOU  THINK,  MY 

sentiments  towards  her  were  of  *  most  peculiar 
order.  In  the  first  place  he  could  not  help  feeling  a 
little  like  a  sneak  thief  who  had  crept  in  at  a  second- 
story  window  and  was  about  to  rob  the  house.  He 
had  married  this  girl  simply  because  his  other  means 
of  living  had  come  to  an  end.  Secondly,  he  was 
frightened  at  the  transparent  purity  of  her  nature, 
so  unlike  anything  with  which  he  had  before  come 
into  close  relations.  It  was  ridiculous,  when  he 
thought  of  it,  that  he  had  been  the  only  one  of  that 
couple  to  blush  since  they  had  been  together. 

Flora  was  not  well,  her  pale  cheeks  had  showed 
that  for  months.  For  some  reason  she  had  sent  for 
him,  in  spite  of  this,  and  herself  fixed  this  early  date 
for  their  nuptials.  Douglass  was  very  glad  of  his 
twenty-four  hours'  respite. 

At  breakfast  she  came  to  meet  him,  looking  much 
as  usual,  except  that  the  lack  of  sleep  to  which  she 
confessed  showed  upon  her  swollen  eyelids.  An 
account  of  the  marriage  had  appeared  in  the  papers. 
The  reporters  had  managed  to  eke  out  the  slender 
story  by  a  long  history  of  the  parents  of  the  con- 
tracting parties.  Maybury  read  several  of  these 
descriptions  before  leaving  his  room,  and  called  his 
wife's  attention  to  them  in  the  breakfast  salon. 
They  smiled  at  them  together,  talking  as  quietly  as 
if  this  was  their  fiftieth  day  of  wedded  life  instead  of 
the  second. 

Senator  Scarlett,  who  had  left  them  to  breakfast 
alone,  came  to  call  on  them  in  the  course  pj  the 
morning.  He  looked  anxiously  into  the  face  of  his 
daughter,  hoping  to  read  there  a  story  which  was  not 
imprinted  on  that  page.  Everything  went  agreeably 
as  usual  during  the  day,  which  included  a  long  car- 


290  YOUNG   MT88   GIDDY. 

riage  drive  at  the  fashionable  hour,  on  the  most 
fashionable  promenade.  Hundreds  of  acquaintances 
bowed  to  the  newly-wedded  couple,  who  returned 
the  salutations.  It  was  remarked  on  every  side  that 
this  was  an  ideal  marriage.  Beauty  and  wealth  were 
hers  ;  family  prestige  was  his.  They  were  the  most 
envied  that  day  of  all  the  million  and  a  half  resi- 
dents of  New  York. 

Even  the  realistic  novelist  is  not  permitted  to  with- 
draw the  curtains  that  hide  some  things  from  the 
gaze  of  the  curious  world.  It  can  only  be  stated  that 
for  the  week  that  succeeded  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Maybury 
lived  the  life  they  had  contracted  to  live.  And  this 
was  for  a  week  only.  On  the  eighth  day  Mrs.  Maybury 
complained  again  of  illness,  and  Dr.  Parton  was  called 
in.  It  was  the  opinion  of  that  wise  practitioner 
that  the  new  wife  required  a  total  absence  of  all 
excitement.  Above  all,  she  should  have  undisturbed 
repose.  This  he  communicated  as  delicately  as  pos- 
sible to  the  husband,  salving  the  wound  by  saying 
that  the  trouble  was  only  a  temporary  one,  that 
would  soon  pass  away. 

Not  knowing  anything  better  to  do,  Douglass  sig- 
nalized the  occasion  by  going  to  his  club  and  getting 
very  drunk  that  evening,  being  escorted  to  his  rooms 
by  Mr.  Bayley  in  person  at  a  very  late — or  rather 
early — hour. 

It  was  the  first  test  of  his  ability  to  keep  his  good 
resolutions,  and  Maybury  was  disgusted  when  he 
awoke  in  the  middle  of  the  day  and  found  how  little 
stamina  he  had  shown.  His  first  act  was  to  send 
word  inquiring  how  his  wife  had  slept,  and  he  told 
the  messenger  to  add  that  he  was  himself  suffering 
from  a  slight  indisposition.  When  Bayley  called,  a 


"DO   YOU   THINK,   MY  DEAR?"  231 

few  hours  later,  the  young  man  heard  the  full  story 
of  his  conduct.  He  had  persisted  in  drinking,  it 
appeared,  in  spite  of  the  advice  of  several  of  his 
closest  friends,  and  had  at  one  time  become  furiously 
enraged  at  a  harmless  steward  who  took  the  liberty  to 
make  a  drink  weaker  than  he  thought  it  should  be.  So 
disgusted  was  Douglass  at  this  recital  that  he  began 
to  fill  up  with  alcoholic  poison  as  soon  as  the  Architect 
went  his  way,  and  it  was  a  week  before  he  left  his 
rooms. 

In  the  meantime  Flora  recovered  enough  to  ride 
out,  but  not  enough  to  see  her  husband  except  at 
table.  Dr.  Parton  was  very  grave  when  interrogated, 
but  would  not  say  much.  The  Senator  also  had  a 
solemn  look.  The  whole  affair  wore  on  Maybury, 
until  it  seemed  sometimes  as  if  he  would  go  frantic. 

"  You'll  have  me  on  your  hands,  too,  if  this  goes 
on  much  longer,"  he  said  to  Parton,  at  the  end  of  a 
month. 

Mr.  Bayley  viewed  the  changed  aspect  of  things 
with  an  interested  face.  He  told  Douglass  at  last 
that  if  he  were  in  his  place  he  would  take  a  little  run 
out  of  town  and  pull  himself  together. 

"  You  could  go  to  the  hills  with  your  rod  and  gun," 
he  said,  "and  no  one  would  find  any  fault.  I'd 
speak  to  your  wife  about  it  before  the  day  is  over. 
As  long  as  she  is  under  a  physician's  care  she  can't 
object." 

At  first  Douglass  protested  with  vigor  that  he 
would  do  nothing  of  the  kind.  When  his  wife  was 
ill  he  wasn't  going  to  be  accused  of  running  into  the 
woods  to  enjoy  himself.  It  would  look  hard-hearted, 
and  i!  there  was  any  fault  he  was  guilty  of  it  was 
not  that  one.  But  the  suggestion  kept  ringing  in 


222  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

his  ears,  and  three  days  from  the  time  it  was  niade 
he  broached  the  idea  to  Flora  at  dinner. 

"  Do  you  think,  my  dear,"  he  said,  "  that  you 
could  spare  me  for  a  few  days  ?  This  is  the  time  I  go 
to  the  Adirondacks,  and  I  need  the  change  very 
much.  If  there  was  anything  I  could  do  for  you,  of 
course,  I  would  not  think  of  going  for  the  world, 
but — " 

To  his  gratification  she  warmly  seconded  his  pro- 
ject. She  added  to  it,  however,  that  she  thought 
there  would  be  no  better  place  for  herself,  as  well  as 
him,  than  in  those  same  Adirondack  hills.  It  was  a 
wonder  she  had  never  thought  of  it.  She  could  go 
to  some  hotel  that  kept  open  late,  with  two  or  three 
servants  and  Madame  Saccard,  and  be  quite  com- 
fortable. Then  he  could  start  from  that  point  with 
his  dogs  and  guides,  and  return  there  occasionally 
as  the  season  advanced.  It  would  be  better  than 
such  a  complete  separation  as  it  would  make  were 
she  to  remain  in  New  York. 

Nothing  could  have  suited  him  better  than  this 
plan,  which  had  all  the  advantages  and  none  of  the 
disagreeable  features  of  his  own.  Dr.  Parton  was 
immediately  sent  for,  and  upon  finding  that  Mrs. 
Maybury  desired  it  very  much,  gave  his  consent. 

"You  can  go  with  me  and  stay  a  day  or  two,  can 
you  not,"  said  Flora  to  the  physician,  appealingly. 
"  Then  if  I  grow  no  worse  you  can  come  back." 

This  was  agreed  to  by  the  doctor,  and  the  cloud 
that  had  lowered  over  the  house  lifted  a  little.  As 
soon  as  they  could  get  ready  the  trip  to  the  moun- 
tains was  undertaken.  Douglass  was  accompanied 
by  a  valet  he  had  lately  engaged,  and  who  was 
known  by  the  bucolic  cognomen  of  Reuben  ;  Vir 


"DO   YOU   THHfK,   MT   DBA*?"  828 

wife  had  Madame  Saccard,  Margot,  another  maid 
and — Austin  Strange. 

Mr.  Maybury  was  glad  his  destination  was  out  into 
the  midst  of  the  wilderness,  instead  of  at  the  hotel 
with  this  young  man.  He  had  an  indistinct  dislike 
for  him,  dating  from  the  original  meeting.  He  also 
r'elt  that  it  would  not  be  pleasant  should  this  surly 
fellow  learn  that  his  sister  was  being  supported — • 
though  ever  so  innocently — by  the  husband  of  the 
vroman  who  employed  him. 

Austin  was  as  taciturn  as  ever  and  as  unobtrusive, 
being  always  ready  when  wanted  and  not  at  all  en 
evidence  at  other  times.  He  was  one  of  those  admir- 
able servants  who  only  hear  what  is  addressed 
directly  to  them,  one  in  whose  composition  there 
was  no  curiosity,  no  interest  in  anything  not 
intended  for  him  to  see.  What  he  had  to  do,  he  did 
well.  Mrs.  Maybury  told  her  husband  on  the  train 
that  she  should  never  know  how  to  get  along  again 
without  him. 

Mr.  Scarlett,  Sr.,  had  gone  to  the  West  on  business 
of  importance.  Another  big  strike  was  brewing, 
this  time  in  some  coal  mines  in  which  he  had  a  very 
large  investment.  His  last  interview  with  his  daugh- 
ter before  departing  was  affectionate  in  the  extreme. 
Tears  were  on  both  their  faces  as  they  parted.  There 
was  nothing  he  could  do  for  her,  and  Dr.  Parton 
had  assured  him  that  her  ill-health  was  liable  to  pass 
away  before  the  winter  was  over.  He  guaranteed 
that  she  had  no  organic  disease,  nothing  but  what 
any  woman  might  have  and  yet  recover  completely. 

Charles  Scarlett  was  also  in  the  West.  He  arrived 
there  before  his  father,  and  the  strange  spectacle 


824  YOUNG   MISS  GIDDY. 

was  presented  of  the  heir  of  millions  fraternizing 
with  the  dissatisfied  workmen,  assisting  them  finan- 
cially, and  giving  them  every  moral  encouragement 
in  his  power.  It  was  a  direct  opposition  to  his 
father  that  he  was  engaged  in  this  time,  not  a  merely 
theoretical  one.  He  could  not  help  that.  He  felt 
that  these  men  were  right  in  resisting  a  power  that 
strove  to  reduce  them  to  the  level  of  foreign  miners, 
in  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

It  was  contended  that  they  had  been  induced  to 
^eave  the  East  and  come  to  these  mines  in  Van 
Buren  under  the  expectation  that  a  certain  rate  per 
ton  would  be  paid  them  ;  and  that,  after  a  short 
time,  they  were  informed  that  the  payment  would  be 
reduced  forty  per  cent.  The  agent  who  had  picked 
them  up  in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  disputed  their 
statements  as  to  any  bargain  of  special  duration. 
He  said  he  had  only  told  them  what  the  rate  was 
at  the  time  they  were  engaged.  How  could  he  help 
it  if  the  state  of  the  market  had  compelled  the 
mining  company  to  cut  prices  for  the  winter  ? 

But  the  miners  had  come  a  thousand  miles  or 
more,  with  their  families,  spending  most  if  not  all  of 
their  means  in  railroad  fares  and  in  getting  settled. 
They  were  in  a  state  of  rage  at  the  trick  they 
believed  had  been  played  on  them.  With  the 
announcement  of  the  cut-down  they  left  the  mines 
and  proceeded  to  destroy  all  of  the  company's  prop- 
erty they  could  lay  their  hands  on. 

In  the  midst  of  this  work  Charles  Scarlett  arrived. 
Under  his  influence  the  men  were  persuaded  to 
cease  their  depredations  temporarily.  He  declared 
that  his  father,  who  was  daily  expected,  would  grant 
the  reasonable  demands  of  the  men.  But  the  Sena* 


**DO   YOU   THINK,    MY   DEAB?"  22* 

tor  had  no  idea  of  going  alone  to  treat  with  that 
kind  of  people.  When  he  came  it  was  with  the 
accompaniment  of  a  regiment  of  soldiers,  requisi- 
tioned without  difficulty  in  his  behalf.  A  conflict 
immediately  took  place  and  a  number  were  killed 
on  both  sides. 

Finding  that  the  military  had  not  even  taken  the 
pains  to  ascertain  the  real  condition  of  things,  but 
had  fired  upon  the  miners  and  their  families  much 
as  if  they  were  a  pack  of  prairie  wolves,  Charles 
Scarlett  lost  his  head  completely.  An  order  had 
been  issued  to  clear  out  the  entire  village.  He 
went  into  the  house  where  he  lodged  and  loaded  a 
gun  that  he  found  there.  Going  to  his  doorway  he 
stood  defiantly  waiting  for  a  chance  to  assert  the 
familiar  maxim  that  a  man's  house  is  his  castle.  A 
detachment  of  soldiers,  sweeping  down  the  street, 
came  upon  the  young  man  with  that  weapon  in  his 
hand  ;  and  an  officer  demanded  in  no  gentle  voice 
that  he  surrender  it  and  move  on  with  the  rest. 

For  answer  Charles,  instead  of  giving  up  the  gun, 
cocked  it.  He  would  undoubtedly  have  discharged 
its  contents  in  the  face  of  the  officer  if  a  lieutenant 
behind  had  not  drawn  a  pistol  and  put  a  ball  into 
the  shoulder  of  the  opponent  of  the  law's  majesty. 
An  hour  later  Senator  Scarlett  found  his  son  in  an 
improvised  hospital,  with  a  surgeon  by  his  side, 
examining  a  bullet  he  had  just  drawn  from  his 
wound. 

"  Well,  I  guess  you've  got  enough  of  it,"  smiled 
the  father,  though  he  still  wore  a  look  of  anxiety. 
"If  you  haven't,  the  others  have,  for  there's  not  one 
of  them  to  be  found  within  two  miles  of  here," 

The  boy  took  the  hand  held  out  to  him. 


2SM>  YOUNG  Mias  GIDDY. 

"  They  are  right,  though,"  he  replied,  faintly. 
"  They  won't  work  at  that  starving  rate,  and  you'll 
find  it  out." 

"  They  won't  get  a  chance  !"  laughed  the  father. 
"The  mine  will  be  shut  up  till  next  spring  now.  I 
didn't  care  anything  about  their  working,  but  when 
they  began  to  smash  things  I  had  to  interfere." 

Charles  put  on  a  pleading  look. 

"  You  could  give  them  the  old  wages,  if  you 
wished,"  he  said.  "  It  would  make  so  little  differ- 
ence to  you.  They  can't  do  any  more  than  exist 
under  the  reduced  schedule,  and  in  a  free  land  like 
ours  a  man  has  a  right  to  live  f 

The  Senator  shook  his  head  positively. 

"  Business  can't  be  done  that  way,  my  boy/'  he 
answered.  "  It  never  was  and  never  will  be  based  on 
anything  but  supply  and  demand.  If  coal  miners 
can  be  had  at  a  certain  price  no  employer  is  going  to 
pay  a  cent  more.  But  it's  just  as  well  for  you  and 
me  not  to  discuss  the  matter  now.  The  doctor  says 
you  want  rest  for  a  day  or  two." 

The  next  day,  when  the  Senator  called  on  his  son, 
he  found  him  doing  well.  He  would  be  around  in  a 
fortnight,  the  physician  told  him. 

"  I've  been  rather  busy  this  morning,"  said  Mr. 
Scarlett,  with  his  almost  habitual  smile.  "  In  the 
first  place  I  have  about  secured  a  promise  that  you 
will  not  be  prosecuted,  but  will  be  permitted  to  go 
free  as  soon  as  your  wound  permits." 

"  Free  !"  echoed  Charles,  with  astonishment.  "  Am 
I  under  arrest  ?" 

"Certainly.  You  were  brc'ight  here  by  the  mili- 
tary, charged  with  inciting  a  riot." 

The  young  man   drew  a  long  breath  of  surprise. 


"DO    TOU  THINK,   MY    DEAK?"  82? 

He  had  done  all  he  could  to  stop  the  riot,  until  the 
poor  miners  were  so  brutally  assaulted. 

"  I  shall  be  able  to  get  you  free,  I  think,"  con- 
tinued  the  Senator,  "  which  will  save  you  a  couple  of 
years  or  so  in  jail.  And  the  other  thing  which  I 
have  been  devoting  myself  to  is  a  long  letter  to  the 
War  Department,  recommending  the  promotion  of 
the  lieutenant  who  shot  you." 

Charles  Scarlett  wondered  if  his  hearing  had  not 
played  him  false. 

"  I  am  much  obliged,"  he  replied,  with  a  new  vein 
of  irony. 

"  You  ought  to  be.  Had  he  be«n  a  second  later, 
according  to  all  accounts,  you  would  have  been  guilty 
of  murder  !  And  then  it  might  have  taken  more 
influence  even  than  7  possess  to  get  you  released." 

The  wounded  shoulder  gave  its  possessor  a  severe 
twinge  at  that  moment,  doing  more  to  cause  the 
paleness  which  spread  over  his  face  than  the  an- 
nouncement he  had  just  heard. 

"  And  the  soldiers  who  shot  down  those  men, 
women  and  children  in  the  street  like  dogs  ?"  he 
muttered.  "  Will  there  be  any  punishment  for 
them  1" 

"  Oh,  no  !"  said  the  father.  "  That  is  very  differ- 
ent. They  were  upholding  the  laws  which  the 
others  were  breaking." 

Charles  would  not  proceed  with  the  argument. 
He  recollected  distinctly  that  the  first  shot  was  fired 
by  the  soldiers,  at  a  time  when  the  striking  miners 
were  with  their  families  in  the  public  street,  doing 
nothing  whatever  to  justify  the  outrage.  The  idola- 
trous love  that  he  bore  his  father  received  a  severe 
strain  under  this  treatment  of  the  people  who  had 


228  YOUNG   MISS  GIDDT. 

been  persuaded  to  the  mines  by  the  misrepresenta- 
tion of  his  agent.  But  further  discussion  was  use- 
less. Mr.  Scarlett  had  told  him  often  that  he  claimed 
he  same  right  to  decide  questions  that  he  gave  to 
.•is  son  and  daughter. 

When  Charles  was  allowed  to  go  from  the  hospital 
he  remained  with  the  strikers  and  did  what  he  could 
for  them  during  the  long  winter  that  followed. 
Almost  every  cent  of  his  handsome  income  was 
expended  in  food,  clothing  and  medicines  for  the 
suffering  ones.  And  he  saw  at  the  end  what  the 
Senator  assured  him  in  advance  he  would  see.  He 
saw  the  hungry  miners  go  to  their  work  in  the  early 
spring  at  the  reduced  rates,  just  as  soon  as  the  mine 
was  opened  to  them.  They  caught  eagerly  at  the 
chance  to  labor,  as  the  beaten  dog  snatches  at  a 
meatless  bone  flung  into  his  jaws. 

If  curses  and  tears  could  affect  the  product  of  toil, 
the  coal  from  the  Van  Buren  mines  for  the  next 
year  would  have  been  unsalable  in  the  market.  It 
would  have  refused  to  ignite  in  the  furnaces  and  on 
the  hearths  to  which  it  was  taken,  but  would  have 
filled  the  atmosphere  with  a  dull  and  tainted  smoke, 
repulsive  to  the  sight  and  dangerous  to  the  nostrils 
of  men. 

Not  a  happy  smile  illumined  the  faces  in  that  set- 
tlement. The  free  American  citizens,  clothed  with  a 
manhood  supposed  to  be  superior  to  anything  else 
on  earth,  were  bowed  under  a  slavery  as  great  as 
that  which  ever  befell  the  hapless  sons  of  Ethiopia. 
A  fiction  of  the  Constitution  told  them  they  were 
born  equal,  but  the  stern  logic  of  facts  raised  one 
above  their  heads  whom  fate  had  made  their  master 
and  oppressor.  . 


8KKI50    AN    OLD   FKIBH».  J&9 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

SEEING    AN   OLD   1TWKNJ>. 

Up  in  the  Adirondack  woods  the  fisK«r  atifc 
trapper  stayed  till  late  in  November.  Mrs.  May- 
bury,  before  that  time,  returned  to  her  Fifth  avenue 
home,  parting  from  her  husband  with  her  usual 
sweetness  but  with  no  special  demonstrations  of 
affection.  Partly  from  what  she  said  to  him,  and  a 
great  deal  from  what  Dr.  parton  communicated,  Mr. 
Maybury  had  resigned  himself  to  a  practical  marital 
separation.  If  one's  wife  is  not  well  he  must  be 
reasonable,  no  matter  how  fervidly  he  desires  her. 
Of  course,  the  doctor  iold  him,  over  and  over,  Mrs. 
Maybury  would  not  be  so  ill  all  her  life.  It  needed 
only  care  and  patience  to  restore  her.  She  had  been 
sick  long  before  her  marriage,  and  had  not  recovered 
as  rapidly  as  had  been  hoped  ;  that  was  all.  Her 
trouble  was  largely  nervous.  If  her  husband  wished 
to  aid  her  convalescence  he  must  see  that  nothing 
disturbed  her  mind.  He  could  do  her  no  greater 
service  than  this. 

The  shrewd  Mr.  Bayley  seconded  the  advice  of 
the  physician. 

"You  always  wanted  a  pile  of  money,  and  you 
hated  marriage  from  your  birth,"  he  said.  "  I  don't 
see  but  you  are  properly  disposed  of.  You  have  the 
emoluments  of  your  position  without  its  cares,  one 
of  the  most  delightful  situations  conceivable.  The 
world  is  open  to  you.  (Jo  South  by-and-by,  and  let 
her  go  with  you.  Leave  her  with  her  retinue  at 


330  TOUNU  MISS  (MOOT. 

Jacksonville,  for  instance,  and  carry  your  gtm  and 

rod  down  to  that  Lake  Worth  paradise  you  discov- 
ered last  year,  or  to  Tampa.  Take  the  good  the  gods 
provide,  and  thank  your  stars  they  stood  in  a  golden 
quarter  the  hour  you  were  born." 

"  But  you  don't  take  one  thing  into  consideration,** 
replied  Maybury,  gravely.  "  I  love  my  wife.  Yes, 
it  is  true.  The  more  I  see  of  her  the  dearer  she 
grows.  And  I  miss  the  confidences  I  hoped  for,  the 
closeness  of  mind  that  one  expects  in  the  marriage 
relation." 

"  Well,  well,"  said  the  Architect,  "  that  will  be 
all  right  in  time.  If  I  am  any  judge  of  women  she 
loves  you  quite  as  much  as  you  do  her.  She  hasn't 
the  ways  of  most  of  them,  that's  all.  And  her  illness 
— why  do  you  keep  forgetting  that  important  mat- 
ter ?  Upon  my  word,  Douglass,  you  are  the  most 
unreasonable  young  man  in  the  entire  circle  of  my 
acquaintance." 

Maybury  began  to  think  his  friend  was  right. 
The  idea  of  going  back  to  Lake  Worth  fascinated 
him.  He  talked  with  his  wife  about  it,  and  found 
her  willing  to  accompany  him  as  far  as  Savannah,  at 
least,  and  perhaps  farther  as  the  season  advanced. 
There  was  nothing  to  show  that  she  had  lost  any  of 
the  regard  which  made  her  accept  him  as  her 
husband.  Her  voice  was  as  low  and  sweet  as  ever. 
Her  blue  eyes  had  the  infantile  expression  he  had 
noticed  in  them  in  that  far  away  childhood  when  he 
had  first  made  her  acquaintance.  But  the  paleness 
of  her  cheek  had  not  departed,  and  sometimes,  when 
he  sent  for  her  suddenly,  she  had  a  shortness  of 
breath  that  he  did  not  like  to  hear. 

The  journey  was  undertaken  in  good  time.    Leav- 


r  flSBEKO   AK   OLD   FKIBKU  981 

ing  Mrs.  Maybury,  Madame  Saccard,  Margot,  Austin 
Strange  and  another  servant  at  the  De  Soto  Hotel 
in  Savannah,  the  sportsman  pushed  rapidly  to  the 
extreme  south  of  Florida.  For  the  rest  of  November, 
December,  and  until  the  end  of  January  he  revelled 
in  the  fish  and  game  that  is  to  be  found  from  Rock- 
ledge  to  Biscayne  Bay.  His  wife's  party,  in  the 
meantime,  did  the  more  civilized  resorts  of  Florida, 
one  after  the  other,  sometimes  accompanied  by  her 
father,  who  came  and  went  from  Washington  and 
New  York. 

With  February  again,  Douglass  began  to  sigh  for 
the  pleasures  of  New  Orleans.  He  went  to  Palatka, 
where  his  wife  was  at  the  Putnam  House,  and  re- 
mained with  her  a  day  or  two.  She  saw  no  reason 
why  he  should  not  go  to  the  Crescent  City,  but  in 
response  to  his  invitation  to  join  him,  she  said  she 
believed  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas  would  benefit 
her  and  had  about  decided  to  go  there  for  a  month  or 
two. 

She  urged  him  earnestly  to  go  and  enjoy  himself 
to  the  utmost.  She  said  it  was  no  reason  why  he 
should  not  do  so  merely  because  she  was  suffering 
from  a  temporary  disorder.  She  had  Madame  Sac- 
card — and  Austin.  If  any  thing  happened  they  would 
telegraph. 

The  last  words  frightened  him  for  a  moment. 

"  If  anything  should  happen  !"  he  echoed.  "You 
do  not  mean  anything  dangerous  ?" 

He  had  taken  a  step  nearer  to  her  side,  but  she 
drew  away,  as  if  in  fear  that  he  was  about  to  grasp 
her  in  his  arms  ;  which,  indeed,  he  was  almost  on  the 
point  of  doing. 

"  No,  no  ;  I  am   not  going  to  die,  or  anything  of 


28S  %      YOUTH*  MISS  GIDDY. 

that  kind,"  she  said,  with  a  light  laugh.  "  I  shall  cer- 
tainly be  better  in  the  spring.  This  cannot  last  much 
longer.  If  you  wish  to  please  me  best  have  just  as 
good  a  time  in  New  Orleans  as  you  can  ;  just  as 
good  a  time,"  she  added,  slowly,  "  as  if  you  were 
not  married." 

A  guilty  flush  rose  to  his  cheeks  as  he  thought  of 
a  meaning  to  this  expression  which  she  would  be 
incapable  of  inventing.  He  turned  away,  fearful 
that  she  might  read  what  was  mirrored  in  his  face. 
His  mind  shrank  from  such  perfect  purity  as  in  the 
old  tales  the  devil  shrank  from  the  presence  of  the 
Cross  ! 

In  New  Orleans  he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with 
the  agreeable  people  he  had  met  the  previous  year, 
and  for  a  time  forgot  the  troubles  that  had  begun 
to  harass  him.  He  avoided,  however,  the  society 
of  men  like  Major  Dilbach,  and  refused  pointblank 
to  visit  the  ball  given  by  the  "  Well-Known  Gentle- 
men." Neither  did  he,  though  ridiculed  good-na- 
turedly by  many  of  his  friends,  show  himself  at  any 
of  the  gay  resorts  in  the  Tenderloin  district  of  that 
city.  He  became,  in  fact,  so  eminently  respectable 
as  to  astonish  himself.  His  amusemeuts  were  sensi- 
ble ones,  and  he  actually  went  to  bed  sober  most  of 
the  nights  during  the  Carnival  proceedings. 

Letters  exchanged  with  Flora,  showing  her  to  be 
happily  situated  at  Hot  Springs,  determined  him  to 
continue  his  travels  for  at  least  a  month  or  two. 
California  was  the  point  at  which  he  began  to  aim. 
He  could  not  very  well  go  back  to  New  York  with- 
out exciting  comment,  and  he  had  no  fancy  for  a 
thermal  resort. 

When  the  Mardi  Gras  entertainments  ended,  how- 


SEEING   AN   OLD   FBIEND.  233 

tver,  a  letter  came  to  him  that  had  much  to  do  with 
making  him  change  his  mind. 

"  An  old  friend  of  yours,  though  a  young  one,"— 
so  the  latter  ran, — "  is  in  the  city  and  wishes  very 

much  to  see  you.  If  you  will  call  at  No. 

street,  and  inquire  for  '  Miss  Amsden,'  the  mystery 
will  be  explained." 

An  old  friend  ?  He  examined  the  writing  for 
some  time,  but  there  was  nothing  familiar  about  it. 
Who  could  have  addressed  him  in  this  peculiar  style. 
He  knew  no  Miss  Amsden,  and  the  name  must  there- 
fore be  assumed.  He  had  a  good  notion  to  pay  no 
attention  to  it  whatever  ;  but  curiosity  prevailed,  and 
an  hour  later  he  had  rung  the  bell  and  was  shown 
into  the  parlor  of  the  house  mentioned. 

The  delay  was  very  slight  between  the  sending  up 
of  his  card  and  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Maybury's 
"  old  friend."  But  when  the  young  lady  walked  in- 
to the  parlor  and  closed  the  door  carefully  behind 
her,  Douglass  did  not  recollect  ever  seeing  her 
before.  She  was  rather  tall,  with  a  very  interesting 
face  and  the  appearance  of  possessing  an  unusually 
lovely  form.  Her  dark  hair,  becomingly  arranged 
with  a  sort  of  boy's  parting  on  the  left  side,  hung 
low  on  the  neck  and  was  tied  with  a  blue  bow.  The 
dress  that  she  wore  was  of  the  same  color,  a  lighter 
shade  than  the  ribbon,  and  her  collar  and  cuffs  were 
so  wide  as  to  give  her  something  of  the  appearance 
of  wearing  the  uniform  of  an  order. 

Her  attitude,  as  she  stood  waiting  to  see  if  he 
would  be  the  first  to  speak,  was  graceful  in  the  ex- 
treme. A  suggestion  of  a  smile,  which  she  seemed 
trying  to  suppress,  played  about  her  ripe  lips  and  a 


MM  YOUNG    MISS  GIDDY. 

tint  of  warm  blood  showed  through  the  healthy 
brown  of  her  complexion. 

"You  don't  know  me?"  she  said,  with  a  rising  in- 
flexion. 

"Not  at  all,"  he  replied, though  even  as  he  uttered 
the  words  the  sound  of  her  voice  had  a  cadence  that 
awakened  a  memory  long  past.  "  Will  you  kindly 
tell  me  where  we  have  met  before  ?" 

Step  by  step,  with  the  creeping  motion  of  an  ani- 
mal that  is  used  to  caresses,  the  girl  came  toward 
him. 

"Are  you  sure  you  do  not  know  me  ?"  she  mur- 
mured, as  though  the  words  were  only  breathed,  not 
spoken,  through  her  pearly  teeth.  "  Mr.  Maybury — " 

She  was  within  two  feet  of  him  now,  and  he  could 
scent  the  sweet  breath  that  issued  from  her  tempting 
mouth. 

"I  do  think  I  have  met  you,"  he  answered,  half- 
dazed  by  her  action,  and  not  quite  pleased  with 
it,  if  the  truth  must  be  told.  "  I  have  met  you,  long 
ago,  but  I  can't  tell — "  Then  he  looked  at  her 
closely,  and  cried,  "  Heavens  !  It's  little  Esther  !" 

Laughing  for  the  first  time,  she  put  both  her 
hands  on  his  shoulders  and  told  him  he  had  guessed 
right. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?"  he  exclaimed,  discon- 
certed. 

"  W-e-1-1,"  she  said,  drawling  her  words,  "  I'll  tell 
you.  Only  it's  a  very  long  story,  and  I  don't  exactly 
know  how  to  begin  it." 

An  anxious  look,  founded  on  something,  he  knew 
not  what,  came  into  his  features.  He  motioned  her 
to  a  chair  and  took  another, 


SEEING   AS   OLD  FRIEND.  235 

*  In  the  first  place,"  he  asked,  "  is  anything  the 
matter  ?  Are  you,  in  any  way,  in  trouble  ?" 

She  imitated  his  sober  look  for  a  moment,  mock- 
ingly, and  then  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"  N-o,"  she  answered.     "  Not  e-x-a-c-t-1-y." 

"You  appear  in  health,"  he  said,  abruptly.  "Your 
father — is  it  anything  about  him  ?" 

The  red  lips  pouted  with  a  sense  of  pique. 

"  My  father  ?"  the  girl  repeated.  "  Why,  I  know 
nothing  of  him  whatever.  It  is  years  since  we  have 
met.  I  was  sent  to  that  school,  you  know,  and  things 
didn't  seem  to  get  along  between  him  and  me.  The 
first  time  I  went  home  I  could  see  they  regarded  me 
as  a  different  bird  from  the  rest  of  the  flock.  I  shall 
never  have  anything  to  do  with  that  family  again." 

This  was  said  with  a  slightly  elevated  tone,  as  if 
the  girl  considered  herself  a  good  long  remove  above 
those  from  whom  she  had  sprung. 

"  All  that,"  said  Maybury,  still  eying  her  with  a 
tinge  of  apprehension  and  disapproval,  "does  not 
explain  why  you  are  in  New  Orleans." 

The  tears  flew  to  the  eyes  of  the  girl.  She  replied 
in  a  voice  that  was  hardly  audible.  She  had  not 
supposed  his  first  act  would  be  to  scold  her.  He 
could  go  at  once  if  he  had  nothing  kinder  to  say 
than  that. 

Quite  shocked  at  the  effect  of  his  words,  Maybury 
disclaimed  any  intention  of  causing  her  grief,  and 
said  she  had  completely  misunderstood  his  purpose. 

"I  only  have  a  natural  desire,"  he  continued,  "to 
understand  everything.  If  you  do  not  wish  to  ex- 
plain, of  course,  you  need  not  do  so." 

"  OV»,  I  mean  to  explain  !  It's  just  what  I  was 
going  to  do,"  said  the  young  lady,  trying  to  sup- 


23d  TOUWO  MISS  GIDDT. 

press  the  sobi  that  rose  to  her  throat.  "  There  was 
a  fire — I  thought  you  must  have  read  of  it  in  the 
newspapers." 

Mr.  Maybury  was  as  much  puzzled  as  ever. 

"  A  fire  ?"  he  repeated,  vaguely. 

"  Yes.  At  the  school.  It  burned  up  everything. 
We  only  got  out  with  our  lives.  The  insurance  com- 
panies made  a  lot  of  fuss,  and  the  principal  said  he 
would  not  resume  for  the  present.  One  of  the 
teachers  lived  in  Mobile — and  asked  me  to  go  home 
with  her.  She  said  it  was  nice  in  the  South — at  this 
season.  And  so  I  came.  And — I  just  happened  to 
see  in  a  Picayune — that  you  were  here — and  it's  not 
far,  and — " 

Maybury  drew  himself  up  with  what  dignity  he 
could  summon. 

"And  you  came  here,  alone  !" 

She  opened  her  eyes  at  the  expression  she  read  in 
his. 

"Do  you  think  that  is  anything?"  she  asked.  "It's 
only  a  little  way.  I'm  not  an  infant.  I  have  been 
on  the  railroad  before.  It  doesn't  take  much  expe- 
rience to  ride  a  hundred  miles  or  so,  and  get  into  a 
carriage,  and  engage  a  room  and  board.  If  it  comes 
to  that,  I  presume  you  are  here,  alone  ! — yourself." 

She  had  mocked  the  inflection  he  put  upon  the 
word  "alone,"  and  he  began  rather  to  like  her  inde- 
pendence. It  was  all  right  to  be  self-reliant,  but  he 
could  not  instantly  realize  that  this  tall  girl  was  not 
the  little  Esther  he  had  last  seen  four  years  previous. 

"But,  really,"  he  said,  "you  have  not  told  me  half 
the  things  I  want  to  know.  What  about  your  mys- 
terious benefactor,  and  the  lawyer  that  sees  to  your 
finances  ?  Everything  all  right  with  them,  I  trust." 


SEEING    AN   OLD   FRIEND.  237 

Rousing  herself  from  a  reverie  into  which  she  had 
fallen,  Miss  Strange  told  him  with  considerable  detail 
the  history  of  her  dealings  with  her  unknown  friend. 
His  allowances  had  been  more  than  liberal.  After 
providing  for  her  wardrobe,  all  the  expenses  of  the 
school  and  her  vacation  trips  she  had  managed  to  lay 
by  considerable  for  a  very  rainy  day,  should  one  ever 
come. 

"I  have  always  thought  you  knew  who  that  man 
was,"  she  added,  as  she  finished  her  recital.  "Now, 
don't  you,  honor  bright  ?" 

He  smiled  at  her  insinuating  way. 

"I  have  a  suspicion,"  he  admitted,  "  but  it  would 
be  manifestly  unfair  for  me  to  reveal  what  he  evi- 
dently wishes  to  keep  secret." 

The  girl's  interest  caused  her  face  to  glow  with 
eagerness. 

"  Tell  me  just  this,"  she  said.  "  Is  the  one  you 
think  it  is  an  old  man  or  a  young  man  ?" 

He  hesitated  before  replying. 

"  Decidedly  old,  Miss  Giddy." 

She  looked  disappointed. 

"  Don't  call  me  that  !"  she  said. 

"  Old,"  repeated  Maybury,  "  and  ugly  to  a  degree  ; 
I  might  almost  say  hideous.  But  that  is  of  little 
account,  if  his  money  comes  regularly." 

Esther  Strange  wore  a  hurt  look  across  the  brows. 

"I  had  hoped  he  was  young  and  handsome,"  she 
aid,  in  a  constrained  voice. 

"  What  does  old  Blackstone  Coke  say  ?"  he  asked. 
•*  You  must  have  tried  to  fish  information  out  of  him, 
before  now." 

Esther  responded  that  Mr.  Coke  would  tell  her 
nothing,  and  she  also  told  him  that  Mr.  Chitty  was 


3I8S  YOUNG  MISS   G1DDT. 

now  the  agent  who  sent  her  allowance.  She  admittew 
having  written  the  latter  gentleman  several  letters, 
in  which  she  had  inquired  about  various  things,  but 
his  answers  ignored  her  questions  entirely. 

"  Does  he  say  whether  the  remittances  are  likely 
to  be  permanent  ?"  asked  Maybury. 

"  No." 

"  And  if  they  should  cease,  have  you  ever  thought 
what  you  would  do?" 

The  girl  spread  a  lace  handkerchief  out  in  her  lap, 
smoothing  down  the  edges. 

"  Yes,"  she  said. 

It  was  a  peculiar  answer,  and  its  tone  indicated 
that  it  was  the  only  reply  she  meant  to  make  along 
that  line. 

"  If  you  were  coming  to  New  Orleans,"  he  sug- 
gested, taking  a  different  tack,  "  you  should  have 
come  a  week  earlier.  The  city  has  been  full  of 
people  witnessing  the  festivities  of  Mardi  Gras." 

"  I  know  it,"  replied  Esther,  "  but  I  had  no  friends 
here  to  escort  me  about.  And  by  the  way  you  act, 
I  do  not  think  you  would  have  liked  to  have  me  on 
your  hands." 

As  long  as  the  danger  was  ended,  and  his  words 
could  mean  nothing  but  good  nature,  he  answered 
that  he  should  have  liked  it  intensely.  Then  it 
occurred  to  him  that  she  would  have  been  an  awk- 
ward incumbrance  in  many  ways. 

"W-e-1-1,  "said  Esther,  in  that  drawl  she  seemed 
fond  of  affecting.  "  I'll  tell  you  what's  the  best  thing 
you  can  do,  now  the  Carnival  is  over.  I  want  to  see 
New  Orleans,  as  long  as  I  am  here,  and  the  places 
near  it,  and  have  some  one  go  with  me  who  knows 
everything  and  can  explain  them  all.  Before  you 


tJUBIKG    AJT    OLD    FRIEND.  289 

start  for  California  you  must  give  me  two  or  three 
days,  all  to  myself." 

Maybury  didn't  know  about  that. 

"I  am  full  of  engagements,"  he  said,  after  what 
seemed  to  her  a  very  long  wait,  "but  I  will  gladly 
do  anything  I  can  for  you.  I  mean  to  leave  the  city 
soon,  and  time  is  growing  precious." 

The  girl's  forehead  grew  darker. 

"You  needn't  trouble  yourself,  if  it  is  to  come  so 
grudgingly,"  she  said,  and  there  were  symptoms  ot 
recurring  tears.  "  I  can  hire  a  guide." 

"  Now,  don't  be  pettish  !"  he  exclaimed.  "  Besides, 
there  are  no  guides  to  hire,  though  there  ought  to 
be  plenty  of  them.  I  shall  be  glad  to  show  you 
about,  and  we  will  begin  to-morrow  if  you  wish." 

After  a  little  further  conversation  that  was  agreed 
upon. 

"Select  your  own  hour,"  she  said,  as  he  went 
away.  "  I  shall  be  here,  mewed  up  close  enough, 
so  you  will  be  certain  to  find  me  at  home." 

As  Maybury  walked  along  the  street  toward  the 
Commercial  Club  he  thought  of  the  Esther  Strange 
he  had  known  five  years  before,  the  capricious,  self- 
willed  little  child  who  had  resolved  in  her  infancy 
not  to  endure  the  privations  of  the  life  into  which 
she  had  been  born.  He  recalled  all  that  happened 
at  his  first  meeting  with  her,  even  the  expression  of 
her  face  and  the  haughty  stamp  of  her  little  foot. 
It  was  a  queer  freak  that  had  made  him  take  on 
himself  the  role  of  her  benefactor — when  he  had 
hardly  enough  of  wealth  for  his  own  necessities.  And 
here  she  was,  a  tall,  handsome  young  woman,  with 
the  same  determined  mien.  How  old  was  she  ? — 
nineteen  probably.  And  he  was  to  be  her  chaperon 


240  TOTING   MISS   GIDDY. 

— how  funny  that  sounded  !  Only  for  two  or  three 
days,  though,  and  then  she  would  return  to  her 
teacher  at  Mobile,  and  he  would  write  to  Mr.  Little- 
ton Chitty  to  see  that  she  was  put  under  the  care  of 
more  exacting  preceptors. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"IF   YOU    LEAVE   IT    TO    ME." 

Mrs.  Maybury  wrote  occasionally  to  her  husband, 
of  course.  The  burden  of  her  letters  was  that  he 
must  have  as  good  a  time  as  he  could,  and  not  think 
too  much  about  her.  She  was  no  worse  than  formerly, 
perhaps  a  little  better,  but  her  "  nerves  "  still  de- 
manded quiet.  Dr.  Parton,  who  was  occasionally 
summoned  from  New  York,  confirmed  her  story.  He 
also  wrote  to  Douglass  that  if  he  wanted  to  do  the 
best  thing  for  everybody  he  would  find  some  pleasant 
way  to  enjoy  himself  until  his  wife  had  made  a  little 
more  progress. 

The  young  husband  read  these  epistles  with  mixed 
feelings.  Flora  seemed  to  be  growing  farther  and 
farther  away  from  him.  He  was  in  effect  a  bachelor 
again,  albeit  a  very  different  one  from  what  he  was 
before  his  marriage.  This  wasa't  entirely  agreeable, 
either,  this  improvement  in  morals,  for  it  left  him 
wondering  what  to  do  with  himself  when  evening 
came.  A  man  should  have  either  a  wife  or  a  mis- 
tress, he  used  to  remark  mentally. 


"IF  YOU   LEATB  IT  TO  MB."  Ml 

Esther  Strange  came  into  his  life  at  just  the  wrdng 
time,  in  one  sense,  and  just  the  right  time  in  another. 
She  helped  to  fill  that  terrible  vacancy.  She  had  a 
way  that  charmed  him,  though  he  did  not  get  used 
to  it  in  a  moment.  He  walked  and  rode  with  her, 
and  they  passed  evenings  together  at  the  theatre, 
and  every  day  it  grew  harder  to  Contemplate  the 
approaching  time  when  he  must  set  his  face  In  the 
direction  of  the  Golden  Gate,  and  dee  her  pack  up 
for  the  North. 

"  How  much  longer  do  you  expect  to  remain  in  the 
city  ?"  he  asked  her,  one  day,  as  they  Stood  in  front 
of  the  monument  Where  the  body  of  President  DaVi& 
of  the  Confederacy  was  then  awaiting  transfer  to 
Richmond. 

It  was  in  one  of  the  prettiest  Cemeteries  of  the 
South,  and  this  was  the  Second  time  they  had  visited 
it  together. 

M  How  long  do  you  wish  me  to  Stay  /"  she  replied, 
demurely. 

"  If  you  leave  it  to  me — "he  began, and  did  not 
finish  the  sentence. 

"That's  exactly  what  I  intend  to  do,"  said  the  girl, 
not  meaning  to  let  him  off  in  that  manner.  "  I  have 
written  to  Mr.  Chitty  that  you  have  taken  entire 
charge  of  me." 

The  young  man  Uttered  *  brief  and  forcible  excla- 
mation. 

"  You  have  done  nothing  6f  the  kind  !" 

"  W-e-M,  t-h-e-n,  I'm  going  to,"  she  told  him.  •  B€- 
cause,  you  see,  I  have  concluded  to  go  td  California 
the  tame  as  you,  and  some  one  must  keep  ma  from 
getting  lost  on  the  road." 

They  were  talking  in  such  low  voices  that  A  party 


242  YOUNG   MISS    GIDDY. 

of  sightseers  from  Indiana,  who  were  close  to  them, 
could  not  distinguish  a  word.  Walking  down  the 
slope  they  took  seats  in  their  carriage. 

"  You've  not  got  money  enough  to  go  to  Cali- 
fornia," said  Maybury. 

"  Does  it  cost  so  awfully  much  ?"  she  exclaimed. 
"  I've  got  a  good  deal." 

They  were  being  driven  out  in  the  direction  of 
Ponchartrain,  and  Maybury  had  drawn  the  curtains 
of  the  carriage,  to  keep  out  the  sun  and  other  over- 
inquisitive  eyes. 

"  I  have  concluded,"  said  the  young  man,  after 
deliberation,  "  that  I  shall  go  to  Mexico,  instead  of 
California.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  you  ought  not  to 
travel  arovmd  the  Pacific  coast  alone,  and  it  follows 
that  you  will  proceed  North  as  soon  as  I  leave  here." 

Both  wore  entirely  sober  faces,  though  neither 
failed  to  realize  the  vein  of  comedy  that  ran  through 
what  they  were  saying.  A  pair  of  young  people 
will  get  into  this  mood  sometimes  before  they  are 
aware  of  it. 

"  I  had  not  cared  to  mention  it,"  answered 
Esther,  in  the  same  collected  tone,  "but  I  also 
intend  to  go  to  Mexico,  myself." 

Maybury  felt  a  wave  of  passion  sweeping  over 
him — one  of  those  powerful  avalanches  which  he 
had  no  moral  strength  to  combat.  It  is  the  misfor- 
tune of  those  who  have  yielded  often  to  temptation 
that  they  have  no  resolution  left  when  the  time  of 
trial  comes. 

"  And  would  you — really  and  truly — go  to  Mexico, 
witk  met"  he  asked,  leaning  toward  the  young  girl. 

"  Why  not  ?"  she  replied,  laconically. 

Why  not,  indeed  !     Did  she  not   know  why  not, 


*X»  YOU  LEAVE   IT  TO  MB*"  543 

this  woman  of  nineteen  ?  If  she  did  not  know,  was 
it  his  business  to  tell  her  ? 

"Your  guardian  might  not  like  it,"  he  suggested. 

"  What !  Mr.  Littleton  Chitty  ?  What  has  he  to 
do  with  me,  except  to  forward  my  allowance  ?  Per- 
haps you  mean  the  Mysterious  One  for  whom  he 
acts.  If  that  gentleman  has  chosen  to  hide  himself 
all  of  this  time,  never  coming  to  see  me,  or  writing 
me  a  line,  is  it  probable  he  will  care  whether  I  am 
in  the  Land  of  the  Aztecs  or  following  the  path  of 
Fremont  ?  As  for  other  considerations — the  opinion 
of  Society  and  that  sort  of  thing — I  care  very  little 
for  them.  I  am  an  advanced  young  woman,  with 
ideas  of  my  own." 

She  said  these  things  airily,  as  if  she  meant  them, 
and  yet  in  a  voice  that  left  him  somewhat  in  doubt 
where  the  humor  ceased  and  the  seriousness  began. 
However,  the  main  question  was  whether  she  would 
go  with  him,  and  after  a  little  further  conversation 
he  satisfied  himself  on  that  point.  She  would  go  ; 
she  was  willing  to  go  ;  it  might  almost  be  said  she 
was  determined  to  go.  This  settled  the  whole 
matter. 

And  Mexico — that  country  mentioned  at  first  in 
jest — was  the  place  of  places  !  In  California  he 
would  be  certain  to  run  across  acquaintances  at 
every  corner.  Eastern  tourists  flocking  there  for 
their  healths,  former  friends  who  had  gone  in  search 
of  fortune  and  missed  it,  and  all  sorts  of  people 
whom  he  would  wish  to  avoid.  But  Mexico — who 
ever  heard  of  any  one  going  to  Mexico  ?  It  was  a 
tropical  land.  It  had  the  charm  of  Montezuman 
romance.  It  would  be  as  interesting  as  Spain,  as 
wild  as  the  Barbary  states,  as  secluded  as  the  Hud* 


944  Yomro  MISS  GIDDY 


son's  Bay  Territory.  Mexico,  by  all  means,  and  the 
sooner  the  journey  was  undertaken  the  better  I 

"  When  shall  we  leave  New  Orleans  ?"  he  asked, 
feeling  as  if  in  a  dream. 

"  I  can  be  ready  at  an  hour's  notice." 

She  was  evidently  a  very  peculiar  young  woman. 
Whatever  he  had  to  say  to  her  could  be  better  com- 
municated some  days  later,  when  they  were  seques- 
tered from  the  civilization  to  which  they  were 
accustomed,  and  some  hundreds  of  miles  nearer  the 
Tropic  of  Cancer. 

"Suppose  we  call  it  to-morrow?"  he  suggested. 
"  There  is  a  train  at  eight  or  nine  o'clock  for  Texas. 
Can  you  get  up  early  enough  to  take  that?" 

She  laughed  at  the  question, 

"If  you  will  join  me,"  she  said,  "I  would  like  to 
get  up  much  earlier.  I  have  not  seen  the  Market 
yet,  remember,  and  if  we  go  so  soon  that  will  be  our 
only  chance." 

Maybury  immediately  assented  to  her  plan,  and 
said  he  would  call  at  her  house  at  five  o'clock  on  the 
following  morning.  Then  they  would  go  to  the  French 
Market,  see  the  sights,  eat  breakfast  in  a  restau- 
rant, and  get  taken  to  their  station, 

"A  very  good  scheme,  with  a  little  alteration,** 
smiled  Esther.  *  You  must  not  forget  that  J  have  a 
reputation  to  sustain." 

He  asked  meekly  in  what  way  he-  had  suggested 
injuring  that  precious  article, 

"  The  landlady  where  I  live  would  be  outraged," 
she  replied,  "  to  have  my  baggage  taken  from  the 
house  at  such  an  unseemly  hour.  If  a  woman  is  to 
to  do  anything  outrt,  the  first  thing  she  needs  to  cul- 
tivate is  a  genteel  capacity  for  lying.  I  shall  have  to 


••nr  *oir  LRAVR  ti  ro  IOB,"  24* 

give  «p  «y  quarters  this  evening,  abont  the  time  a 
train  is  logo  to  Mobile.  The  cabman  will  sta.'t  with 
me  for  the  station — but  he  will  not  take  me  there. 
Do  you  understand  ?" 

A  wild  notion  that  she  proposed  to  present  herself 
at  his  lodgings  Sprang  into  Maybury's  head  and  then 
vanished.  He  had  not  the  slightest  idea  what  she 
intended  to  do. 

"  For  a  man  of  the  world,  you  seem  exceedingly 
obtuse,"  said  the  girl,  after  taking  a  survey  of  his 
blank  countenance,  "  Instead  of  going  to  the  Louis- 
ville and  Nashville  Depot  I  shall  ask  my  jehu  to  take 
me  to  the  St.  Charles,  One  can  go  in  and  out  of  a 
big  hotel  at  any  hour.  In  the  morning  I  will  be  in 
the  ladies'  room  when  you  call  for  me.  We  will  see 
the  Market,  get  our  breakfasts  separately,  and  at  the 
proper  hour  I  will  board  the  train  for  Texas." 

It  was  a  shrewd  idea,  certainly.  In  case  any  link 
in  the  chain  should  be  uncovered  it  Was  surely  better 
if  he  was  seen  leaving  for  "  California,"  on  the 
natural  train,  and  apparently  alone.  To  go  to 
Mexico  he  could  continue  on  the  Southern  Pacific  to 
San  Antonio. 

"  I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  tend  a  messenger  to 
call  you  in  the  morning,"  he  said,  brightly,  as  he 
neared  her  lodgings  on  the  homeward  way. 

"More  likely  I  shall  have  to  wait  for  you,"  she  an- 
swered. "  I  shall  be  in  the  Ladies'  Parlor  of  the  St. 
Charles  at  five  o'clock  sharp." 

"  Then  you  will  see  me  there  soon  after,"  he  said. 
"  Now,  is  there  anything  I  can  do  V 

"Yes.     You  can  order  my  place  in  the  Pullman." 

"And  get  your  tickets  with  my  own?" 

She  hesitated. 


J48  YOUNG   MISS   OTDDT. 

"  If  you  fike.    I  can  pay  you  after  we  get  utider 

way." 

"  I  shall  write  to  Mr.  Chitty,"  she  added,  *  to  for- 
ward money,  from  time  to  time.  Where  is  it  best 
to  have  it  sent  ?" 

"To  the  City  of  Mexico,"  he  answered.  "Get  it 
in  drafts  that  I  can  easily  cash  anywhere." 

In  the  Ladies'  Parlor  of  the  St.  Charles  he  found 
Miss  Esther,  the  next  morning,  as  calm  and  collected 
as  if  she  was  not  embarking  upon  the  most  peculiar 
journey  of  her  life. 

"  I  am  on  time,  you  see,  in  spite  of  your  predic- 
tion," she  said,  rising  to  greet  him. 

"  And  I,  notwithstanding  your  doubt,"  he  an- 
swered. "  Did  you  rest  well  last  night  ?" 

"  Excellently." 

"  Shall  we  go  now  to  the  Creole  Market  f 

"  Whenever  you  are  ready." 

There  were  very  few  people  about,  only  one  in 
fact  that  they  noticed  beside  the  employes  of  the 
hotel,  as  they  descended  the  stone  steps  from  the 
balcony  and  turned  their  faces  toward  Canal  street. 
The  atmosphere  was  as  balmy  as  can  be  imagined 
and  the  day  promised  to  be  one  of  those  so  common 
there  at  this  season,  cloudy  but  devoid  of  rain.  They 
entered  the  French  Quarter,  walking  slowly  along 
the  streets  amid  the  odd  architecture  of  a  bygone 
day,  until  they  emerged  into  the  public  square  with 
the  mate  to  the  Washington  statue  of  Gen.  Jackson. 
At  the  Market  they  interestedly  watched  the  dealers 
and  patrons,  for  Esther  had  never  witnessed  a  simi- 
lar sight.  To  Maybury,  who  had  been  in  those  of  a 
dozen  foreign  cities,  this  one  seemed  the  most  wortfc 


m 

visiting  of  them  all,  excepting  the  African  and 
Asiatic  bazaars. 

Miss  Strange  was  quite  delighted.  The  Creole 
women,  with  their  baskets,  selecting  the  day's  pro- 
visions, pricing  and  examining  each  article  with  the 
care  their  Northern  sisters  use  only  on  goods  for 
personal  wear  or  furnishings  for  the  dwelling  ;  the 
negroes  of  all  shades,  from  the  plantation  worker  to 
the  dainty  octoroon  clad  in  her  newest  finery  ;  the 
interminable  stalls,  with  everything  edible  from  fish 
to  fruit  ;  the  peculiar  dialects  and  unknown  tongues 
that  made  a  pleasant  babel  all  around  her  ;  the  hun- 
gry breakfasters,  sitting  at  little  shelves  and  munching 
various  compounds  that  did  not  look  half  as  savory 
as  they  seemed  ;  this  and  much  more  held  the  young 
girl's  attention  and  made  her  loath  to  leave  the  place 
when  her  escort  suggested  that  the  time  had  come 
for  doing  so. 

"  If  I  were  to  live  in  New  Orleans  a  month  I  should 
come  to  this  market  every  morning,"  she  said.  "I 
never  should  tire  of  watching  those  people.  How 
odd  it  seems  to  hear  negroes  speaking  that  French 
patois  !  Instead  of  being  in  America  one  could  easily 
conceive  himself  thousands  of  miles  away." 

Then  he  told  her  something  of  the  foreign  markets 
he  had  visited  ;  of  the  stupendously  large  ones  in 
London  ;  of  the  Halles  at  Paris  and  the  flower  mar- 
ket of  the  Madeline ;  of  the  Dutch  markets,  the 
fairs  of  Russia,  the  booths  in  the  central  square  of 
Toulouse,  the  Sok  at  Tangier,  the  fish  sales  under  the 
Algerian  arcade.  And  she  replied,  in  the  most  matter- 
of-fact  way,  that  some  day  she  would  go  to  all  of 
them  with  him,  never  raising  her  eyes  as  she  spoke 


248  Toima  JOBS  GIDDY. 

or  Indicating  that  there  was  a  double  meaning  to  her 
expressions. 

He  walked  on  with  her,  not  directly  to  the  hotel, 
but  toward  the  water  front.  It  was  still  early  to 
return.  When  they  reached  the  levee  they  saw  many 
steamboats  moored  along  the  shore.  Some  were 
laden  with  cotton,  some  with  wheat  and  others 
bound  up-stream  with  merchandise. 

N<jw  Orleans  is  a  great  port  and  a  growing  one. 
The  Father  of  Waters  is  pouring  its  treasures  into 
her  Jap  in  greater  volume  year  by  year.  A  new  line 
of  steamboats,  running  direct  to  Liverpool,  is  soon  to 
be  added  to  her  fleet,  making  her  no  inconsiderable 
rival  to  the  northerly  seaports  in  the  Atlantic  carry- 
ing trade.  There  is  every  probability  that  she  will 
be  among  tho  six  largest  cities  in  the  Union  before 
ten  more  years  have  elapsed. 

Early  as  was  the  hour,  there  was  a  bustle  In  pro- 
gress that  betokened  an  active  day.  Gangs  of  men, 
most  of  them  dark  in  hue,  were  engaged  in  loading 
or  unloading  the  various  craft,  while  scores  of  drays 
drawn  by  mules  were  taking  cargoes  to  and  from 
the  vessels. 

Consulting  his  watch,  Maybury  found  that  it  was, 
at  last,  time  to  go. 

"  The  train  departs  at  nine,"  he  said,  as  he  handed 
her  into  a  vehicle,  which  was  found  a  short  distance 
away.  '•  That  is,  the  ferry  leaves  this  side  of  the 
river  at  that  hour.  You  must  start  from  the  St, 
Charles  at  8.15  in  order  to  be  certain  not  to  miss." 

"And  it  is  now  seven,"  said  Esther.  "  Everything 
is  ready.  J  have  only  to  take  a  light  breakfast." 

The  coachman   was  waiting.  WHO  a   coachma»> 


"IF  YOU   LEAVE   IT  TO  MB."  $49 

evident  impatience,  to  set  off  on  his  journey,  but 
Maybury  delayed  him  a  moment  longer. 

"  You  don't  think,  do  you,"  he  asked,  "  that— -that 
gny  one  is  watching  us  ?' 

"  Who  ?" 

"Does  any  one  know  you  ar$  in  New  Orleans t 
Any  one,  but--'" 

44  Only  my  teacher,  who  is  at  Mobile  ;  and  Mr. 
Chitty,  if  he  has  got  my  letter,  which  has  hardly 
had  time  to  reach  him.  Who  would  have  any  busi- 
ness to  know,  or  to  care  ?  I  am  responsible  to  no 
one  now — unless  it  be  to  the  unknown  guardian 
whom  I  have  never  seen." 

"  And  to  me,"  he  suggested,  smiling.  For  he  was 
very  glad  to  hear  her  speak  so  confidently. 

"  To  you  ?"  she  echoed  smiling,  "  Not  at  all. 
Don't  flatter  yourself," 

The  sensation  of  being  pursued  had  haunted  May- 
bury  all  the  morning.  Stopping  for  the  twentieth 
time  to  look  behind  him,  he  detected  a  familiar  face 
dodging  into  an  alleyway,  and  obeying  his  impulse 
he  ran  to  the  spot  and  caught  the  owner  by  the 
ihoulder. 

"  What  do  you  want  of  me  ?"  he  demanded, 
roughly,  for  he  was  by  this  time  somewhat  excited. 

It  was  the  negro,  Jefferson,  whom  he  had  paid  off 
the  previous  evening,  having  no  further  use  for  his 
services.  Jeff  was  of  inky  hue,  but  he  came  near 
turning  white  with  alarm  at  the  manner  of  his  ques- 
tioner. 

"  I  don't  want  nuffin,"  he  stammered, 

"You  have  been  following  me  T*  said  Maybury, 
severely. 


560  TOWTG   MMS   GJDCT. 

"  Only  a  block,  sah.  I  was  jest  gwine  up  de  street, 
sah." 

It  was  useless  to  waste  a  display  of  contempt  on 
this  creature.  He  wore  such  a  meek  appearance 
that  nobody  could  have  suspected  him  of  anything 
more  than  indiscretion. 

14  Going  up  the  street,  eh  ?"  said  Maybury,  eying 
him  sharply.  "  You're  going  in  a  pretty  direct  line 
to  the  Parish  prison  !" 

The  negro  protested  with  rolling  eyeballs  that  he 
was  only  looking  for  a  chance  to  earn  an  honest  liv- 
ing. He  swore  he  had  not  followed  Maybury  inten- 
tionally. 

The  young  man  reflected  a  minute.  Perhaps  he 
had  made  a  mistake. 

"  You  know  Mr.  Mtddleford,  in  the  hotel  at  Lake 
Ponchartrain,"  he  said,  presently.  "  I  will  give  you 
two  dollars  to  carry  him  a  note." 

Taking  a  card  from  his  pocket  he  wrote  a  few 
words  on  it.  The  bill  that  he  gave  the  negro  with 
this  missive  was  not  for  two  dollars,  but  for  ten. 
The  quick  eye  of  the  fellow  discovered  what  he 
thought  was  an  error,  and  he  crumpled  the  money 
in  his  fist  lest  it  should  attract  attention. 

"All  right,  sah,"  he  said,  receiving  the  envelope. 
"  And  dere's  ten  cents  mo',  sah,  for  car-fare." 

Admiring  the  "cheek"  of  the  darky,  Maybury 
added  a  quarter  to  what  he  had  already  given  him. 

"Two  tickets  to  San  Antonio,"  he  told  the  station 
agent,  an  hour  later.  "  Do  you  sell  the  Pullman 
tickets  here  also  ?" 

"You  will  have  no  trouble  getting  them  on  the 
train,"  was  the  reply. 

Again  there  was  that  sensation  of  being  watched  ! 


IN    THE    MEXICAN   MOSTTEBVT.  251 

Loosing  in  every  direction,  Maybury  could  not  see 
any  person  that  appeared  to  take  the  least  interest  in 
him,  but  he  would  have  been  willing  to  wager  a 
goodly  sum  that  his  destination  was  now  known  to 
some  one  who  had  taken  extraordinary  pains  to 
learn  it.  He  had  asked  for  two  tickets,  also,  and 
probably  the  shadower  knew  that. 

Well,  what  harm  was  there  in  it  ?  So  far  he  had 
done  nothing  of  which  any  one  could  very  deeply 
complain.  It  would  only  make  him  more  guarded 
in  his  conduct  until  he  was  much  further  from  pur- 
suit. Perhaps  it  was  the  very  best  thing  that  could 
happen  to  him. 

He  found  Esther  and  got  the  baggage  checked 
which  she  pointed  out  to  him,  as  well  as  his  own. 
Then  he  entered  the  Pullman  with  her,  and  when  the 
train  started  he  drew  a  faint  sigh  of  relief.  Almost 
before  it  was  ended,  however,  he  looked  upon  a  dis- 
agreeable sight  from  the  car  window. 

That  negro  was  grinning  at  him  from  the  platform 
which  was  being  left  behind,  and  waving  a  farewell 
with  the  letter  he  had  paid  him  to  deliver  at  that 
hour,  at  a  point  four  miles  away  t 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

IN     THE  MEXICAN     MONTEREY. 

That  there  was  something  peculiar  in  this  conduct 
of  T.  Jefferson,  it  was  useless  for  Mr.  Maybury  to 
deny  ;  but  he  turned  from  the  sight  of  the  negro  to 
that  of  the  pretty  girl  by  his  side,  who  had  voluntarily 


952  TOIWO  MISS  OIOTT. 

started  on  a  long  journey  as  his  companion— with 
him,  as  she  put  it  herself,  to  act  as  her  "  chaperon." 
Whatever  object  the  black  man  had  in  following  him 
about  the  streets  of  New  Orleans,  whatever  prevented 
him  from  going  to  deliver  that  letter  as  he  had  been 
ordered,  he  was  now  far  "behind,  and  the  train  was 
bearing  the  travelers  farther  from  him  each  moment. 
There  was  every  probability  that  he  knew  their  desti- 
nation, that  he  had  overheard  the  direction  given  to 
the  station  agent  for  the  two  tickets;  it  was  more  than 
likely  that  he  would  convey  this  information  to  who- 
ever was  employing  him.  Nevermind.  Nobody  ex* 
cept  Miss  Strange  and  Mr.  Maybury  knew  that  their 
route  was  not  to  be  toward  California,  but  toward 
Mexico.  He  would  throw  his  pursuers,  if  any  there 
were,  off  the  scent  at  San  Antonio.  And  after  that, 
to  follow  them  would  be  like  chasing  wild  birds  on 
the  wing  I 

Their  conversation  which  presently  began  referred 
mainly  to  the  country  through  which  they  were  pass- 
ing, that  low-lying  land  that  borders  the  railway  for 
miles  after  leaving  the  Crescent  City  for  the  west. 
When  they  came  to  higher  country  they  talked  of  the 
topography  of  that  section,  and  upon  entering  Texas 
the  gigantic  area  of  that  southwestern  empire  served 
as  a  topic.  Meal-time  varied  the  monotony,  and  so 
did  two  "Albatross"  novels  that  were  purchased  of 
the  train-boy.  Esther  read  "  Why  I'm  Single  "  and 
Mr.  Maybury  conned  "  Thy  Neighbor's  Wife"  a 
second  time.  As  he  was  bound  to  a  Spanish-speaking 
country  he  wanted  to  go  over  again  Rad  Redfleld's 
tour  in  Spain. 

Toward  evening  he  left  Esther  and  passed  an  hour 
or  two  in  the  smoking  compartment,  where  he  met 


IN  TUB  MEXICAN  MONTEREY.  253 

come  gentlemen  from  Wisconsin,  with  whom  he 
enjoyed  a  smoke  and  a  general  conversation.  When 
it  was  bed-time  he  said  good-night  to  Esther  early, 
admitting  that  he  was  in  want  of  rest. 

The  next  day,  when  they  arrived  at  San  Antonio, 
they  were  driven  immediately  to  the  hotel,  where 
Maybury  selected  rooms  as  far  apart  from  each  other 
as  possible,  and  registered  the  first  names  which  came 
into  his  mind,  to  throw  any  unduly  observant 
watchers  off  the  scent.  He  engaged  a  carriage  as 
soon  as  lunch  was  over,  and  was  taken  to  the  prin- 
cipal places  of  interest  with  his  companion.  The 
Alamo,  the  Soldier's  Barracks,  the  Mexican  Quarter, 
the  old  ruins  of  churches  and  monasteries  in  the 
suburbs  interested  them  both  very  much,  but  the 
most  enjoyable  thing,  after  all,  was  the  handsome 
city  itself.  There  was  a  substantial  appearance  of 
thrift  about  the  place.  The  business  blocks  would 
have  done  credit  to  any  of  the  older  cities.  The 
residences  were  set,  for  the  most  part,  in  tasty 
grounds,  having  the  real  homelike  air  that  is  so  often 
wanting. 

The  salubriousness  of  the  atmosphere  made  It 
evident  that  San  Antonio  had  not  unjustly  earned 
its  fame  as  a  health  resort.  Maybury  was  espec- 
ially struck  by  the  beauty  of  the  little  river  that 
meandered  through  the  town,  crossed  by  street* 
and  bridges  at  frequent  intervals.  He  told  Esther 
that  it  reminded  him  in  soma  ways  of  the  Adige  at 
Verona.  If  the  people  would  only  possess  them- 
selves, as  a  municipality,  of  both  its  banks,  and  lay 
them  out  in  drives  and  walks  they  would  have,  he 
said,  the  finest  parkway  available  to  any  inland  city. 

After  consulting  with  the  local  agents  of  both,  or 


354  YOUNG  M188   GIDDT. 

rather  all,  of  the  railways  that  led  to  the  Aztecan 
land,  he  decided  to  enter  Mexico  by  the  way  of 
Laredo.  On  the  following  morning  he  took  the 
train  for  that  point,  with  his  companion.  Most  of  the 
day  they  sped  through  a  country  in  which  the 
mezquite  flourishes  and  great  herds  of  cattle  graze. 
They  found  that  the  first  place  of  special  interest 
beyond  the  border  was  the  city  of  Monterey.  As 
this  point  is  reached  at  about  three  in  the  morning 
one  sleeping-car  is  detached  here  and  the  passengers 
are  permitted  to  slumber  unmolested  on  a  side-track 
until  seven  o'clock. 

Night  fell  shortly  after  leaving  Laredo,  and 
another  early  hour  for  retiring  was  chosen  by  both 
our  travelers.  Before  they  parted  for  the  night  May- 
bury  talked  a  long  time  with  Esther,  endeavoring  to 
discover  if  she  had  the  least  regret  at  the  extraor- 
dinary step  she  had  taken  ;  but  there  was  nothing 
visible. 

In  Monterey  they  found  a  quiet  house  on  one  of 
the  principal  plazas  and  were  soon  made  comfort- 
able. It  was — like  many  other  houses  in  this  part  of 
the  world — of  two  stories,  though  a  goodly  propor- 
tion of  them  have  only  one.  There  was  something 
indescribably  exhilarating  in  the  air  of  the  city,  and 
both  of  the  travelers  partook  of  a  hearty  breakfast 
in  the  bricx-floored  dining-room.  Maybury  fur- 
bished up  his  stock  of  Spanish,  though  one  of  the 
waiters  spoke  a  certain  grade  of  English,  and  Esther 
laughed  to  hear  the  unfamiliar  syllables.  Shortly 
after  they  had  eaten  they  took  a  stroll  about  the 
place  and  on  returning  to  the  hotel  declared  the 
anorning  to  have  been  most  pleasantly  spent. 
,  The  valley  in  which  Monterey  is  situated  is  very 


IIT  TOT   MEXICAW   KONTEUT.  355 

beautiful.  A  river,  shallow  at  most  seasons  as  is 
the  Tagus,  creeps  down  from  the  mountains  and 
meanders  leisurely  through  the  town.  The  houses 
are  built  mainly  of  adobe,  the  best  of  them  wearing 
handsome  coatings  of  plaster,  painted  brightly,  often 
in  imitation  of  marble  and  other  stones.  It  is  said 
that  there  is  not  a  chimney  in  the  place,  and  this,  if 
not  literally  true,  is  nearly  so.  The  cooking  is  done 
with  charcoal,  which  does  not  necessitate  a  flue. 
Certainly  there  is  no  fire  department,  and  no  need  of 
any.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  a  fire,  should 
one  start,  could  pass  the  thick  walls  of  the  building 
in  which  it  originated.  The  roofs  are  flat,  covered 
with  cane  stalks  or  similar  material,  coated  with 
mud.  A  house  thus  built  ought  to  last  forever,  and 
it  is  said  that  a  very  comfortable  cottage,  without 
ornament,  can  be  erected  at  the  cost  of  $150. 

"  However,"  said  a  young  lady  at  the  hotel,  wh» 
told  these  things  to  Esther  and  her  escort,  "  it  would 
be  no  great  hardship  were  one  compelled  to  sleep 
out  of  doors,  except  during  the  rainy  season.  The 
evenings  have  about  the  same  temperature  in  sum- 
mer and  winter,  there  being  no  great  variations  as  in 
the  United  States." 

For  several  hours  in  the  vicinity  of  noon  the  sun 
is  apt  to  shine  with  a  heat  not  comfortable  to 
Northerners,  or  indeed  to  the  residents  themselves. 
After  lunch  it  is  the  custom  of  nearly  every  one  to 
seek  a  cool  and  secluded  place  indoors  and  indulge 
in  a  genuine  Spanish  siesta.  At  half-past  three  or 
four  the  air  is  again  sufficiently  cool  to  make  a  walk 
in  the  open  air  a  thing  of  pleasure.  In  the  evening 
the  plazas  are  filled  with  a  concourse  of  happy-faced 
people,  walking  in  an  interminable  circle,  chatting 


294  YOUNG   MISS    eiDDT. 

in  a  subdued  key  with  each  other  and  bowing  gra- 
ciously to  friends  whom  they  meet.  Most  of  the 
women  are  bareheaded,  if  such  a  term  can  be  used 
where  such  magnificent  black  hair,  sometimes 
adorned  with  roses,  is  seen.  The  men  Wear  conical 
hats  of  immense  si2e,  many  Of  Which  cost  a  good 
deal  of  money,  some  as  high  as  A  thousand  dollars. 

*'  They  look  like  pictures  of  bull-fighters,"  said 
Esther,  as  she  Sat  with  Maybury  watching  the 
pageant. 

44  All  but  the  hats,"  he  replied.  "  But  glance  at 
the  ladies.  Are  they  handsome,  do  you  think  ?" 

The  girl  began  to  study  thoae  of  her  sex  who  were 
passing. 

14 1  have  beert  looking  at  the  men,"  she  Said. 

"  Do  you  always  look  at  the  men  ?"  he  asked,  mis- 
<jhievously. 

She  turned  to  him  and  their  eyes  met.  She  had 
to  laugh. 

**  The  women  are  not  handsome,  as  a  general  rule," 
she  said,  presently.  "  A  few  of  them  are  rather 
pretty.  Some  of  the  poorest  dressed  are  the  most 
interesting,  I  think.  But  the  men — they  look  very 
well  indeed." 

A  band,  belonging  to  the  military,  stationed  in  the 
centre  of  the  Plaza  by  the  fountain,  began  to  play  a 
beautiful  tune.  It  was  a  most  poetic  moment. 

"Do  you  know  how  it  seems  to  me?"  he  asked 
her.  "  It  seems  as  if  we  were  at  a  theatre,  and  that 
all  this  was  a  mere  spectacle  invented  for  our  de- 
light." 

She  nodded.  It  was  a  little  like  that  to  her,  too. 
The  moon  was  rising  and  could  be  seen  in  the  dis- 
tant tree-tops.  The  strain*  of  music  grew  wonder- 


HI  THE  MIXIGUT  MONTEREY.         297 

fully  lovely.  The  people  continued  their  procession, 
the  upper-classes  on  the  outer  ring  and  the  peons 
nearer  the  centre.  The  waters  of  the  fountain 
dripped  incessantly. 

The  breezes,  wafted  from  the  mountain  sides, 
fanned  their  faces.  There  was  a  dreaminess,  a 
drowsiness  in  the  atmosphere  that  made  it  like  an 
enchanted  land.  They  sat  so  long  that  the  crowd 
thinned  out  gradually  and  they  were  left  nearly  alone. 

"  It  must  be  late,"  said  Esther,  looking  at  her 
watch.  "  Why,  it  is  nearly  eleven  !" 

"  It  is  quite  the  same,"  he  said,  as  he  saw  she 
intended  to  rise.  "If  we  retire  late,  we  can  rise 
later  in  the  morning,  and  time  is  of  no  account.  Let 
us  stay  here  a  little  longer  and  enjoy  the  perfection 
of  this  night  air." 

She  hesitated,  and  he  urged  his  case. 

"  Esther,"  he  said,  "  listen  a  minute  to  me.  There 
is  no  one  near  who  can  understand  a  word  I  say — 
those  fellows  speak  only  their  native  tongue — " 

"  I  think  I  must  go  in." 

She  rose  to  her  feet. 

Piqued  that  she  should  be  so  easily  the  victor  in 
the  first  round  of  their  contest,  he  rose  with  her  and, 
putting  on  the  best  face  he  could,  walked  slowly 
to  the  hotel  and  to  her  door. 

When  she  had  disappeared  into  her  room,  he  half 
wished  he  were  back  in  New  York,  where  he  could 
run  in  at  the  club  and  talk  with  some  of  his  old 
friends.  Monterey  was  at  that  moment  the  dullest 
place  in  all  Christendom. 

"  What  am  I  to  think  of  her  ?"  he  mused,  going 
slowly  back  to  the  Plaza. 

But,   after   all,   he    reflected,   how   could   he   ca- 


358  TOIJNG  mas  OU>DT. 

pect  her  to  act  much  differently  ?  It  was  one  ot 
the  fancies  of  women  to  tantalize.  It  would  not  do 
to  take  this  seriously.  When  they  were  through 
with  Monterey  they  would  go  still  farther  into  the 
interior,  and,  as  they  grew  more  and  more  to  know 
each  other,  time  would  set  things  right. 

Esther  Strange  could  see  every  movement  he  made 
from  the  half-closed  lattice  of  her  window,  which 
overlooked  the  Plaza.  She  sank  in  a  heap  on  the 
floor  and  watched  him  intently. 

"  I  could  love  that  man  very  much,  if  I  only 
dared  !"  she  whispered  to  herself.  "  I  could  love 
him  very,  very  much  !" 

The  night  was  still  beautiful.  She  could  hear  the 
trickling  of  the  water  in  the  fountain  in  the  centre 
of  the  Plaza.  A  night  bird,  perched  in  one  of  the 
trees  in  the  park,  began  to  sing.  The  moon  was  just 
beyond  the  municipal  building,  to  the  left,  but  its 
rays  fell  on  Maybury  and  illumined  his  face  so  that 
she  could  see  every  lineament  plainly. 

"  How  I  could  love  him  !"  she  repeated,  as  she 
rose  and  began  to  disrobe.  "  Yes,  if  I — only- 
dared  !" 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"  SHALL    I    PUT    OUT    THE    LIGHT  ?" 

Thus  far,  in  spite  of  the  suspicious  appearance  of 
his  conduct,  Douglass  Maybury  had  no  really 
definite  intentions  in  reference  to  the  fair  girl  who 
had  undertaken  with  him  this  most  peculiar  journey. 


••HALL  I   PITT   OUT  THB   LIGHT?"  £59 

He  had  suffered  a  good  many  sad  hours  on  account 
of  the  barrier  which  Mrs.  Maybury's  illness  had 
raised  between  them,  but  he  had  never  once  in  his 
thoughts  blamed  Flora.  And  never  since  their 
wedding-day  had  he  dreamed  of  violating  his  vows. 
All  his  fears  that  he  might  be  tempted  to  be  untrue 
to  her  had  proved  baseless.  She  was  his  wife.  He 
believed  nothing  could  make  him  forget  that,  even  if 
she  should  remain  an  invalid  as  long  as  she  lived. 
What,  then,  was  he  doing  with  Esther  Strange,  in  a 
foreign  land,  traveling  under  circumstances  which 
must  appear  culpable  to  any  one  of  his  acquaintances, 
should  it  ever  be  discovered  ! 

All  his  youth  he  had  been  used  to  feminine  com- 
panionship. He  craved  it  as  a  thirsty  man  craves 
water.  With  Esther  he  was  simply  drifting.  Her 
company  was  most  attractive  to  him,  under  the 
circumstances.  He  had  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
her  character  was  good.  He  believed  that  he  had 
strength  enough  for  both  if  there  came  a  dangerous 
moment.  But  up  to  the  present  time  there  was 
nothing  to  indicate  that  the  girl  was  likely  to  com- 
mit the  least  indiscretion.  They  had  been  in  each 
other's  almost  exclusive  society  for  a  week  and  she 
was  not  yet  even  playing  the  part  of  a  "  sister." 

Prepared  to  repel  anything  like  advances,  the 
young  man  was  disappointed  by  this  excessive  cold- 
ness. He  wanted  her  to  behave  without  grossness, 
but  he  also  wanted  a  closer  companionship  than  she 
gave  signs  of  intending  to  allow.  She  was  as  dis- 
tant to  him  as  his  own  wife  had  been.  The  moment 
he  relaxed  the  least  particle  she  took  fright.  Could 
she  be  afraid  of  him,  after  taking  this  journey  into  an 
unknown  land  under  his  escort  ?  He  wished  heartily 


g<$0  YOUN0  MISS  OIDDT. 

that  there  was  some  way  in  which  he  couJd  learn  the 
exact  state  of  her  mind. 

The  next  morning  Esther  met  him  with  her  sweet- 
est smile.  He  thought  it  odd  how  much  sweeter 
her  smiles  were  at  daybreak  than  nightfall.  The 
day  was  passed  agreeably.  They  took  a  ride  to  the 
hot  baths  of  Topo  Chico,  where  both  of  them  tested 
the  virtues  of  the  waters,  and  in  the  early  evening 
they  had  a  canter  on  horseback.  A  very  handsome 
pair  they  made  as  they  returned  to  their  headquar- 
ters at  about  seven  o'clock.  The  group  that  gathered 
about  the  hotel  entrance  were  unanimous  in  agree- 
ing that  the  lady  rode  extremely  well. 

Two  days  later  there  was  a  ball  given  by  the 
American  residents,  and  Mr.  Maybury  and  Miss 
Strange  were  invited  to  it.  The  number  of  Ameri- 
cans in  Monterey  is  limited,  but  the  characters  in  our 
story  found  them  very  bright  and  interesting  people. 
Esther  had  been  registered  under  a  fictitious  name — 
that  of  Miss  Savage — as  she  did  not  wish  her  move- 
ments traced.  Maybury  alluded  to  her  as  his  cousin, 
and  if  any  doubt  arose  as  to  this  relationship  there 
was  nothing  in  the  conduct  of  either  to  justify  sus- 
picion. At  the  end  of  the  first  waltz  he  resigned  her 
to  a  young  Spanish-American  who  had  been  pre- 
sented to  them,  and  who  spoke  a  fair  quality  of 
English. 

"Your  cousin  is  very  young,"  said  a  fair  creature, 
as  Douglass  escorted  her  to  a  seat  after  one  of  the 
dances. 

"  Very,"  he  replied.  "  A  school-girl.  But  she  enjoys 
your  country  exceedingly." 

-  Is  she  an  orphan  ?" 

a  Poor  child,  yes  !"    said  Maybury,  unblushingly. 


"SHALL  i  PUT  OUT  THE  LIGHT?"  261 

"And  I  have  the  fortune  to  be  in  a  sense  her  guard- 
ian." 

The  young  lady  looked  at  her  companion  search- 
ingly.  She  wondered  if  there  was  anything  like  a 
love  affair  in  this  peculiar  journey.  There  was  no 
way  in  which  she  could  ascertain,  however,  and  she 
contented  herself  with  the  information  she  had 
gained,  which  she  imparted  freely  to  her  friends. 

"You  are  an  orphan,  and  my  cousin,  remember,  in 
case  you  are  asked,"  said  Maybury,  warningly,  the 
next  time  he  took  Miss  Strange  upon  the  ball-room 
floor.  "  I  had  these  interesting  facts  drawn  out  of 
me  by  the  young  woman  I  have  just  escorted  to  her 
seat." 

Esther  laughed. 

"  Is  that  the  best  a  man  can  do  ?"  she  asked. 
"  Why  didn't  you  give  her  an  evasiva  answer  ?  I 
have  given  a  dozen  to  Sefior  Grijalva.  I  have  kept 
saying  '  Indeed  ?'  '  Is  it  possible  ?*  '  Perhaps  you  are 
right,'  and  things  of  that  kind  to  him  for  the  last 
fifteen  minutes.  And  when  none  of  those  would  do 
I  have  affected  not  to  hear,  or  have  interrupted 
by  calling  his  attention  to  something  in  the 
room.  However,  it  is  a  good  thing  to  know  one's 
status,  and  I  am  glad  to  be  informed  that  I  am  an 
orphan.  Now  you  might  as  well  tell  me  the  rest. 
Am  I  poor  as  a  mouse  in  a  meeting-house,  or  a  great 
heiress  ?  Are  you  my  cousin  on  my  father's  or  my 
mother's  side  ?  How  long  are  we  going  to  stay  in 
Mexico  ?  Are  you  married  or  single  ?  I  have  been 
asked  all  those  things  and  plenty  more  since  I  came 
here  this  evening." 

Maybury  had  to  smile  with  her  at  the  oddity  of 
the  situation.  Clearly  they  ought  to  hav«  rehearsed 


these  things  before  coming.     The  girl's  shrewdness 
had  saved  them  for  this  time,  however. 

"  Keep  up  your  taciturnity  for  the  rest  of  the 
evening,"  he  said,  "  and  to-morrow  we  will  open  a 
school  of  mutual  instruction.  Are  you  having  a 
good  time  ?"  he  added. 

She  said  she  was  having  a  delightful  time  and 
showed  him  her  card,  full  for  every  number.  He 
had  a  vivid  wish  that  the  ball  was  over  and  that  he 
could  take  her  in  a  carriage  for  a  ride  the  rest  of  the 
night,  away  out  into  the  country,  where  he  could 
talk  to  her  alone.  But  when  he  looked  again  into 
her  fair  face  and  saw  the  bright  light  in  her  clear 
eyes,  he  was  glad  to  have  her  with  him  at  any  price. 
He  fancied  there  was  something  new  in  her  expres- 
sion— something  more  earnest  than  before,  but  if  she 
had  anything  to  say  to  him  this  was  neither  the  time 
nor  place.  And  after  all  it  might  have  been  merely 
imagination,  born  of  the  intensity  of  his  hope. 

When  the  ball  was  over  he  escorted  the  girl  to  the 
hotel  and  left  her  at  her  door  without  a  word  or  a 
look  that  could  be  given  a  double  meaning.  He  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  Monterey  was  not  secluded 
enough  for  the  close  companionship  he  craved. 
There  were  too  many  Americans  there,  and  the  town 
was  too  near  the  Texan  border.  He  must  go  farther 
away. 

The  next  day  he  learned  of  a  natural  wonder  in 
the  town  of  Garcia,  near  Santa  Catarina,  in  the 
shape  of  a  mammoth  cave,  containing  stalactites  and 
stalagmites  rivalling  those  of  Kentucky.  Nothing 
could  be  better  as  a  beginning.  Esther,  when  told 
of  the  project,  entered  into  it  with  enthusiasm.  She 
would  talk  of  nothing  else  each  evening,  as  they 


"SHALL   I  PET  OUT  THE   LIGHT  f  263 

rode  toward  the  gigantic  La  Silla,  the  stupendous 
saddle  that  surmounts  the  Sierras  Madre,  or  to  that 
other  hill  over  which  the  Bishop's  Mitre  hangs  so 
plainly  in  the  sky,  visible  for  miles  around. 

A  looked-for  missive  came  at  last,  telling  Maybury 
that  everything  was  all  right,  and  inclosing  a  new 
letter  of  credit.  Mr.  Chitty  expressed  his  belief  that 
Miss  Strange's  family  were  entirely  unaware  of  her 
presence  in  Mexico,  and  that  her  late  teachers  gave 
themselves  no  concern  on  her  account.  More  than 
this  the  worthy  lawyer  did  not  feel  called  upon  to 
say,  and  Douglass  smiled  grimly  as  he  folded  up  the 
note  and  put  it,  with  its  accompaniments,  in  his 
pocket. 

Several  of  the  young  ladies  at  the  hotel,  who  had 
become  much  attached  to  Esther,  tried  to  frighten 
her  from  her  proposed  trip.  She  would  meet  no  one 
but  Mexicans,  they  said  ;  the  accommodations  would 
be  terrible,  as  there  was  nou  decent  hostelrie  in 
Garcia  ;  it  was  a  long  and  heating  ride  to  th«  cave, 
and  a  climb  to  exhaust  one  when  the  foot  of  the 
mountain  was  reached  ;  in  order  to  do  it  well,  it 
would  be  necessary  to  spend  at  least  two  nights 
away.  Esther  laughed  at  all  of  these  bugbears,  say- 
ing she  was  fond  of  adventure,  and  was  not  in  the 
least  afraid  of  fatigue.  Long  rides  and  hard  climbs 
were  among  the  things  she  liked  best.  She  would 
trust  herself  anywhere  her  cousin  was  willing  to  go. 
When  the  day  came,  however,  hers  was  the  only 
smiling  female  face  on  that  side  of  the  Plaza.  Her 
advisers  persisted  to  the  last  that  the  only  proper 
way  to  see  the  cave  was  in  a  large  party,  with  pro- 
visions and  guides  galore. 

Mr.  Maybury  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  a  small 


20£  YOUNG  MISS  QEDDY. 

merchant  at  Garcia,  who  was  asked  to  assist  in  seem- 
ing food  and  shelter  and  in  engaging  guides  and 
horses.  He  cared  very  little,  to  tell  the  truth,  about 
the  cave.  If  he  had  left  the  country  without  see- 
ing it  he  would  have  been  just  as  contented.  But 
by  his  side  in  the  train  that  crept  toward  Santa  Cat- 
arina  was  the  young  daughter  of  the  carpenter. 
She  was  going  on  this  quest  with  him.  It  was  quite 
enough.  There  was  nothing  interesting  in  the  rail- 
way ride — nothing  in  the  carriage  journey  from  the 
station  to  the  village  of  Garcia — but  her. 

He  found  the  merchant  in  his  diminutive  store,  a 
Spaniard  to  the  province  born,  who  looked  like  one 
of  the  figures  in  the  "  Doctor  of  Alcantara,"  and  who 
was  very  obliging.  The  merchant  read  the  letter, 
inquired  after  the  health  of  the  writer,  a  silver  miner 
who  had  formerly  resided  in  that  place,  and  begged 
his  visitors  to  wait  a  few  minutes  until  he  could  send 
for  a  man  who  entertained  travelers  and  furnished 
guides.  In  considerably  longer  time  than  would  be 
accounted  a  brief  one  by  residents  of  the  United 
States,  the  sought-for  person  was  found.  And  after 
such  explanations  as  the  merchant  could  give  him,  the 
new-comer  bade  his  guests  follow  him  to  his  house 
at  the  other  end  of  the  village,  which  they  did  in  the 
carriage  that  had  brought  them  from  the  station,  and 
which,  it  turned  out,  was  also  his  property. 

It  was  now  evening.  The  landlord,  if  such  he 
should  be  called,  told  Maybury  that  dinner  would 
be  ready  in  a  short  time,  and  upon  request  conducted 
the  travelers  to  a  room  where  a  very  primitive 
toilet  could  be  made.  As  his  footsteps  were  re- 
treating Esther  turned  to  her  companion  and  sard 
she  would  require  a  short  time  for  preparation  and 


i  FUT  OUT  THE  LIGHT?"  265 

that  when  she  was  ready  she  would  meet  him  in  the 
general  room.  Thus  dismissed,  Maybury  went  back 
to  his  host,  and  secured  a  basin  of  water  and  a 
towel,  which  he  placed  on  a  chair  in  the  yard  and 
made  his  ablutions,  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  land- 
lord. 

"They  have  probably  been  quarreling,"  said  the 
Mexican  to  his  wife,  in  explanation. 

The  dinner  was  not  appetizing  to  the  travelers. 
The  meat  was  of  goat's  flesh,  done  very  rare,  and 
neither  of  them  would  touch  it.  The  bread  was 
fair  and  there  was  plenty  of  milk  and  a  dish  of 
eggs,  but  not  much  else.  However,  Maybury  ate  in 
silence,  knowing  that  he  could  do  nothing  to  make 
it  better,  and  thinking  it  unadvisable  to  utter 
criticisms  that  might  be  understood  even  if  the 
exact  language  was  not  comprehended.  When  the 
travelers  rose  from  the  table  they  took  a  short 
stroll  out  toward  the  Rio  San  Juan,  delighted  with 
the  balmy  air  and  gorgeous  sunset. 

The  houses  of  the  village  were  mostly  of  unadorned 
adobe.  An  air  of  the  deepest  poverty  hung  over  all, 
but  it  was  a  poverty  that  carries  with  it  far  less  of 
sting  than  that  which  strikes  the  cold  and  hungry 
poor  of  more  highly  civilized  lands.  It  is  doubtful 
if  there  was  an  unfed  stomach  in  that  cluster  of 
hovels,  and  there  is  little  of  winter  weather  to  pene- 
trate unpleasantly  those  walls  of  earth.  Thinking 
to  make  himself  agreeable,  Maybury  threw  a  hand- 
ful of  coppers  to  a  group  of  small  children  that  came 
out  to  see  the  strangers,  but  instead  of  picking  up 
the  coins  the  urchins  fled  precipitately. 

Esther  was  unusually  pensive  that  evening.  She 
had  begun  to  feel  the  isolation  of  her  position,  and 


966 

to  wish  that  she  had  considered  a  little  longer 
before  coming  to  this  out  of  the  way  place.  The 
paucity  of  her  dinner  had  begun  to  do  its  work.  She 
had  become  used  to  good  fare  and  she  shuddered  as 
she  thought  of  the  half-cooked  goat's  meat  that  had 
been  set  before  her.  Besides  this,  there  were  five  or 
six  Mexicans  in  the  house,  whose  looks  were  not,  to 
her  unaccustomed  eyes,  reassuring.  She  thought 
that  in  the  event  of  trouble  it  would  add  to  the 
terrors  of  the  situation  not  to  be  able  to  understand 
a  word  they  spoke,  or  speak  one  that  had  any  mean- 
ing for  them.  In  the  midst  of  all  there  was  only  one 
bright  figure— Mr.  Maybury. 

"  I  wish  you  would  go  with  me  for  a  minute  to 
see  where  I  am  to  sleep,"  she  stammered,  when  they 
had  reached  the  house  again.  "  I  want  to  be  sure 
the  bolts  are  sufficient,  that  all  the  windows  and 
doors  are  secure," 

"Willingly,"  he  answered.  And  stopping  the 
landlord,  who  happened  to  enter  at  that  moment,  he 
told  him  in  as  good  Spanish  as  he  could  muster,  that 
he  would  like  to  see  madame's  room  at  once. 

Bowing  gruffly,  as  one  who  resents  an  imputation 
that  anything  in  his  house  can  possibly  be  less 
elegant  than  it  ought  to  be,  the  landlord  brought  a 
lamp  from  the  next  room  and  led  the  travelers  to 
a  chamber.  Setting  the  luminary  on  the  table  he 
waited  to  learn  if  there  was  anything  else  required. 

"Why,  this  is  on  the  ground  floor!"  exclaimed 
Esther,  in  a  low  tone,  as  Douglass  went  to  examine 
the  shutters  to  the  windows. 

"  Naturally,"  he  replied,  "  when  there  is  but  on« 
story  to  the  building," 


tt«ALL   I    PCT   OTT   THE    UO-WT?"  2#7 

The  girl  turned  a  shade  paler,  and  set  her  tseth 
together  to  keep  from  uttering  a  scream. 

Maybury  threw  open  the  window-shutters,  and 
disclosed  the  fact  that  there  were  no  fastenings  to 
them  whatever. 

"  How  do  you  secure  these  ?"  he  asked  the  land- 
lord, who  stood  like  a  statue,  in  the  inner  doorway. 

"We  do  not  secure  them,"  was  the  surprising 
reply. 

"  But  supposing  some  one  should  enter  ?" 

"They  would  hardly  take  the  trouble  to  come  In 
at  the  windows  when  the  door  is  more  convenient." 

The  young  man  walked  to  the  outer  door  and  dis- 
covered, somewhat  to  his  consternation,  that  it  was 
as  unprovided  with  fastenings  as  the  shutters. 

He  did  not  know  what  to  do.  Certainly  of  all 
things  he  must  not  anger  his  host,  whose  temper,  he 
could  already  see,  was  mercurial.  How  was  he  to 
satisfy  Esther,  or  even  himself !  The  girl  had  come 
forward,  and  in  her  excitement  had  caught  him  by 
the  sleeve.  It  did  not  require  a  knowledge  of  any 
foreign  tongue  for  her  to  see  that  she  was  expected 
to  pass  the  night  in  a  room  without  the  least  pro- 
tection against  whoever  chose  to  enter. 

"  If  a  guest  should  lose  his  purse  or  his  watch — 
what  then  ?"  asked  Maybury,  in  a  polite  tone,  as  if 
it  was  a  small  matter  that  had  happened  to  occur  to 
him. 

The  brow  of  the  landlord  darkened.  He  answered 
in  a  louder  voice  that  he  was  responsible  for  the 
property  of  his  guests,  and  that  no  one  had  ever  lost 
anything  under  his  roof.  Saying  which,  he  turned 
on  his  heel  as  if  tired  of  talking  with  such  a  foolish 


£68  YOUNG  MIB8  OTDDT. 

person,  and  closed  the  door  that  led  into  the  mala 
part  of  the  house  behind  him. 

"  What  shall  we  do  ?"  asked  Esther,  appealingly. 
"Do  you  think  they  mean  us  any  harm  ?" 

"  Not  the  least,"  replied  Douglass,  though  he  was 
not  by  any  means  as  certain  of  it  as  he  would  have 
liked  to  be.  u  Calm  yourself  and  let  us  talk  it  over 
sensibly." 

The  girl,  with  an  effort,  tried  to  follow  his  advice 
and  both  of  them  seated  themselves. 

"This  landlord,"  said  Maybury,  "  took  charge  of 
us  on  request  of  Sefior  Hernandez,  an  old  and  repu- 
table resident  here.  Sefior  Hernandez  had  a  letter 
from  an  acquaintance  at  Monterey,  asking  him  to  put 
us  into  good  hands.  Plenty  of  people  know  where 
we  are,  and  a  cry  would  be  raised  about  us  in  the 
event  that  we  should  be  reported  missing.  Our 
personal  safety  is  consequently  assured.  As  to  our 
property,  Mexicans  have  the  name — that  is,  the 
lower  class  of  them — of  being  natural-born  thieves. 
Perhaps  the  charge  is  ill-founded  or  exaggerated.  I 
have  frequently  found  this  the  case  with  people  of 
foreign  parts.  Now,  the  windows,  if  you  will  exam- 
ine them,  are  exactly  like  all  the  others  in  the  house. 
It  is  evident  that  there  have  never  been  any  bolts  on 
them,  for  it  would  be  impossible  to  remove  the  traces, 
and  this  wood  is  many  years  old.  The  same  thing  is 
true  of  the  door.  If  I  were  here  alone  I  should 
undress,  fall  asleep  within  five  minutes,  and  be  ready 
to  wager  a  thousand  silver  dollars  that  I  should 
awake  safe  and  sound  to-morrow  morning." 

Esther  listened  with  gradually  brightening  coun- 
tenance. 


•'•HALL  I  PTTT  THE   LIGHT  OUT?"  269 

" If  you  were  alone ?"  she  repeated.  "Yes,  but y<m 
are  not  a  woman  !" 

He  thought  it  best  to  admit  this  charge  without 
prevarication,  and  did  it  in  a  way  that  brought  the 
smiles  to  her  cheek. 

"You  are  quite  right,  my  child,"  he  said.  "If  I 
were  a  woman  I  should  be  rather  more  inclined  to 
caution  and  perhaps  to  fear.  Now,  what  are  you  to 
do  ?  Undoubtedly  you  will  have  to  remain  in  this 
house  over  night.  There  being  no  bars  or  bolts,  you 
will  not  be  able  to  lock  these  windows.  What  then  ? 
What  but  engage  a  guard,  who  would  lay  down  his 
life  before  he  would  permit  any  person  to  enter  your 
chamber  ?" 

Miss  Strange  let  her  gaze  rest  on  the  bare  floor  at 
her  feet.  She  expected  the  opportunity  would  be 
utilized  for  a  declaration  of  love  and  she  did  not 
know  exactly  how  it  should  be  met  under  these 
peculiar  circumstances. 

"The  only  guard  I  could  trust,"  he  continued,  see- 
ing that  she  was  not  going  to  speak,  "  is  myself." 

She  looked  up  then,  and  studied  his  face  intently. 

"  There  is  a  bed,"  he  added,  pointing  to  it. 
"  That  is  for  you.  Here  is  a  mat  on  the  floor,  which 
can  be  moved  to  the  vicinity  of  the  doorway.  That 
will  do  for  me.  Your  couch  may  be  the  softer,  but  I 
will  warrant  my  sleep  will  not  be  disturbed." 

Esther  turned  her  face  slowly  toward  all  sides  of 
the  room,  as  if  searching  for  a  better  plan.  She  was 
apprehensive  of  some  danger,  but  she  knew  not  in 
what  direction  it  lay.  Her  femininity  rose  above  all 
else,  and  made  her  wish  this  man,  so  much  more 
self-contained  and  stronger  than  she,  would  take  her 
in  his  arms  and  tell  her  these  things  with  her  head 


270  YOtnra  MM§  BIDDY. 

resting  on  his  breast.  That  would  not  be  conven- 
tional, but  she  wanted  something  that  would  soothe 
her,  as  a  child  wants  its  mother  when  it  awakes  and 
cannot  see  anything  in  the  dark. 

"Very  well,"  she  assented,  at  last. 

She  rose  and  walked  to  the  bed  to  examine  it. 
Then  she  took  off  her  hat  and  laid  it  on  the  table 
and  made  a  few  other  preparations  to  assume  a 
recumbent  position. 

Maybury  found  two  rugs  instead  of  one,  and  an- 
nounced the  discovery  with  an  appearance  of  glee. 
He  removed  his  shoes,  and  rolling  them  in  one  rug, 
made  a  very  good  pillow,  over  which  he  spread  his 
;oat. 

He  could  not  help  laughing  at  the  ridiculous  situ- 
ation, but  the  girl  did  not  join  him  in  this  pleasantry. 

"Shall  I  put  out  the  light,  Miss  Giddy,  or  will 
you  ?"  he  asked,  as  there  seemed  nothing  more  to  do. 

"We  will  let  it  burn." 

He  wondered  he  had  not  thought  of  that  idea  him- 
jelf. 

"Good-night,"  he  said,  ten  minutes  later,  from  his 
place  on  the  floor  ;  but  she  made  no  answer.  Could 
it  be  she  had  fallen  asleep  so  soon,  after  all  her 
fright  ? 


A  NIOBT   AX  GABdA,  271 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

A     NIGHT     AT     GARCIA. 

No,  Esther  was  not  so  soon  asleep.  She  did  not 
want  to  answer  her  companion,  lest  one  beginning 
of  conversation  should  bring  on  still  more.  She  had 
recovered  to  a  great  degree  from  her  fear  of  intru- 
ders, believing  that  the  theories  Maybury  had 
advanced  were  probably  correct  ones.  If  the 
Mexicans  had  intended  to  assault  or  rob  her  they 
would  be  more  likely  to  have  lulled  her  fears  than 
to  do  all  they  could  to  arouse  them.  But  this  figure 
lying  on  the  mats,  this  countryman  of  her  own,  this 
thorough  gentleman,  educated  and  refined — how  sure 
could  she  be  of  him  ! 

Time  settled  these  things.  Used  to  adventure, 
experienced  in  travel  in  many  lands,  Maybury  was 
not  long  in  finding  oblivion.  Twenty  minutes  after 
he  laid  his  head  on  his  improvised  pillow  he  was 
thoroughly  unconscious.  It  was  an  hour  later  when 
the  young  girl  on  the  bed  followed  his  example,  and 
slumber  came  to  her  at  the  very  moment  when  she 
least  expected  it.  She  had  made  up  her  mind  not 
to  go  to  sleep.  She  was  studying  the  problem  of 
how  to  conduct  herself  in  case  tLIr.^  lOwk  on  cci- 
tain  disagreeable  phases  of  which  she  could  con- 
ceive ;  and  in  the  midst  of  that  she  was  gone. 

Tired  with  the  events  of  the  day,  neither  of  the 
sleepers  awoke  for  many  hours.  It  was  Douglass 
who  first  opened  his  eyes.  For  a  moment  he  could 
not  remember  where  he  was.  Then  his  gaze  wan- 


279  YOUNO  MISS  «TX>DT. 

dered  to  his  bed,  on  which  the  sleeping  figure  wai 
seen,  in  an  attitude  of  childlike  ease  and  rest.  The 
face  was  turned  toward  him.  In  her  sleep  Esther 
looked  three  or  four  years  younger  than  she  really 
was.  He  was  charmed  by  the  repose  of  the  slum- 
berer,  by  the  scattered  hair  that  hung  over  her  fore- 
head, by  the  flush  of  health  that  filled  the  cheek. 
The  girl  had  lain  down  in  her  street  clothes,  and  the 
skirts  enveloped  her  limbs,  all  but  a  suspicion  of 
stocking  that  showed  above  her  stout  boots,  worn 
for  mountain  climbing. 

Ah,  but  she  was  pretty  t  If  only  he  might  have 
gone  to  her  and  awakened  her  with  the  faintest 
touch  of  a  kiss  !  But,  no,  it  must  not  be.  His  first 
kiss  from  her,  if  it  ever  came,  should  have  her  con- 
sent as  its  basis  ;  and  that  consent  this  was  not  the 
time  to  ask  or  obtain. 

Rising  noiselessly,  Maybury  opened  the  outer  door 
that  had  given  him  such  doubt  on  the  preceding 
evening,  and  close  to  which  he  had  passed  the  night. 
It  led  into  a  large  yard,  used  for  the  stalling  of 
horses,  a  yard  surrounded  by  a  low  adobe  wall,  over 
which  a  man  could  easily  have  climbed.  Such  lack 
of  precaution  against  burglars  argued  well  for  this 
half-heathen  land  in  comparison  with  the  Christian 
commonwealths  of  his  own  country.  It  was  likely 
that  the  money  he  and  Esther  carried  exceeded  the 
yearly  income  of  any  family  of  that  village,  and 
yet  no  one  had  been  tempted  to  assail  them.  He 
recalled  the  dark  visage  of  the  landlord  as  he  an- 
nounced his  personal  responsibility  for  the  safety  of 
his  guests  and  their  property.  It  was  apparent  that 
this  functionary  was  injured  in  his  feelings  by  the 


A   WIGHT   JLT   OAKCIA.  J7S 

insinuation  that  he  kept  a  house  in  which  danger 
might  lie. 

Going  to  the  kitchen,  which  he  could  see  on  the 
other  side  of  the  yard,  Maybury  found  the  wife  and 
daughters  of  his  host,  and  laying  down  a  piece  of 
silver  money  he  asked  that  one  of  them  go  to  awaken 
the  lady  who  came  with  him,  and  to  render  her  all 
the  assistance  possible  in  making  her  toilet. 

The  young  woman  to  whom  the  money  was  given 
exchanged  a  few  words  with  the  others  before 
departing  on  her  errand.  They  were  strange  people, 
those  Americanos,  she  said.  They  seemed  as  afraid 
of  their  wives  as  if  women  were  wild  animals  from 
the  Gulf  mountains.  Undoubtedly  this  Sefior  and 
his  Sefiora  had  been  quarreling  again  ;  and  yet  they 
were  outwardly  pleasant  to  each  other.  The  father 
had  told  them  of  the  alarm  of  his  guests  lest  some 
one  should  rob  them  in  the  night,  and  they  had 
laughed  derisively  over  the  idea.  Rob,  in  Garcia  ! 
How  far  would  the  robbers  get  ere  the  guarda  ruraUs 
would  be  down  on  them.  And  then  what  ?  It 
would  be  "  bang-bang  !"  No  trouble  of  a  trial,  no 
expense  for  attorneys.  A  couple  of  shots  and  a 
shallow  grave  in  the  sand. 

A  man  might  sleep  in  the  open  air  with  a  bag  of 
money  by  his  side,  in  Garcia  !  And  even  if  it  were 
not  for  the  rurales,  who  in  the  place  would  disgrace 
it  by  stealing  from  a  stranger  ?  Every  one  there 
knew  every  one.  The  possession  of  ten  dollars  more 
than  he  could  account  for,  would  direct  suspicion 
with  unerring  aim  to  a  guilty  party.  The  country 
north  of  the  Rio  Grande  must  be  a  very  dangerous 
place.  They  would  not  like  to  have  to  go  there. 


474  Torao  MISS  OIDDY. 

Americanos  were  so  suspicious,  they  slept  like  owls 
in  the  peaceful  nights  ! 

When  Esther  awoke  and  found  the  young  Mexican 
girl  bending  over  her  she  had  a  momentary  fright. 
She  looked  at  the  place  where  Maybury  had  slept, 
to  see  if  he  was  still  there,  and  then  at  the  doors  and 
windows.  The  true  condition  of  things  dawned  upon 
her,  however,  as  the  landlord's  daughter  stood  wait- 
ing as  if  for  orders,  and  she  summoned  the  few 
words  in  Spanish  which  she  had  acquired,  to  ask  for 
water,  towels  and  other  necessary  articles,  not  one  of 
which  was  to  be  seen  on  the  premises.  Everything 
was  brought,  after  some  delay,  and  then  Esther 
wanted  one  thing  more — a  mirror — which  she  had 
not  the  least  idea  how  to  express  in  the  Spanish 
tongue.  Considerable  pantomime  failed  to  convey 
to  the  waitress  the  desired  information,  and  finally 
she  departed  and  brought  her  mother,  to  whom 
Esther  renewed  the  signs.  At  last  the  elder  woman 
said  something  to  her  daughter,  who  vanished  and 
returned  with  a  broken  looking-glass,  not  over  clean. 
Having  her  principal  wants  now  supplied,  Miss 
Strange  dismissed  them  both  and  completed  her 
preparations  for  breakfast. 

She  expected  Mr.  Maybury  would  call,  but  after 
waiting  a  long  time  for  him  she  ventured  out  alone. 
Passing  rather  timidly  through  a  group  of  ranch- 
eros,  all  of  whom  saluted  h«r  respectfully  with 
"  Buenas  dias,"  the  girl  went  out  of  doors  and  saw 
her  companion  at  some  little  distance,  engaged  in 
contemplating  the  landscape. 

"Good-morning,"  she  said  to  him,  as  she  came 
within  vocal  range. 


A  NIGHT  AT  0ABOZA.  275 

He  turned,  looked  at  her  anxiously,  and  took  sev- 
eral steps  in  her  direction. 

"  You— you  have  slept  well  ?"  he  asked,  devouring 
her  with  his  eyes. 

"Perfectly,"  she  answered.  "And  I  am  quite 
ashamed  that  I  allowed  you  to  make  such  a  sacrifice 
for  me  as  to  sleep  on  the  floor.  I  am  convinced  that 
I  would  have  been  as  safe  alone  as  if  I  had  brought 
a  squad  of  soldiers." 

She  was  so  bright  and  bore  so  little  evidence  of 
having  passed  the  night  in  other  than  her  ordinary 
way  that  he  resumed  his  usual  demeanor.  As  for 
himself,  he  said,  the  floor  was  an  old  friend  of  his. 
He  had  fared  much  worse,  often  on  the  bare  ground, 
in  Africa. 

"  I  came  to  your  conclusion  early,"  he  added. 
"And  I  felt  that  if  any  one  should  attack  me,  I  was 
safe  under  your  protection." 

She  laughed  at  his  humor.  They  were  drawn 
nearer  to  each  other  than  they  ever  had  been,  by 
their  isolation.  She  wished  once  more  that  he  would 
offer  to  kiss  her,  and  she  knew  she  would  scream 
loud  enough  to  be  heard  a  mile  if  he  did. 

"  I  suppose,"  said  Mr.  Maybury,  "  you  would  pre- 
fer to  start  this  morning  for  Monterey,  or  perhaps 
New  York,  to  going  horseback  with  only  myself  and 
a  couple  of  guides,  to  the  Cave  of  La  Virgen  ?" 

Esther  shook  her  head  with  decision. 

"  So  far  from  having  that  opinion,  I  would  go  to 
the  cave  even  if  you  returned  and  left  me  here,"  she 
replied.  "  I  could  not  be  frightened  again,  and  I 
am  simply  crazy  for  adventure.  If  there  was  only 
some  place  where  we  could  get  an  American  break- 
fast I  would  ask  for  nothing  more.  I  am  dying  of 


37$  YOUNG  HISS  GIDDY. 

hunger  and  I  fear  to  encounter  what  may  be  on  that 
table  yonder." 

He  answered  that  she  had  been  brought  up  too 
daintily,  and  that  the  first  requisite  in  such  a  country 
as  Mexico  was  to  forget  all  preconceived  notions  re- 
garding food.  At  that  moment  one  of  the  landlord's 
men  came  to  announce  that  the  morning  meal  was 
ready,  and  with  a  grimace  that  the  messenger  could 
not  see,  Esther  started  with  her  escort  for  the  dining- 
room. 

The  dining-room,  it  may  be  said,  was  also  the 
kitchen,  and  there  is  every  probability  that  it  served 
for  the  sleeping-room  for  part  of  the  family  retainers 
as  well.  The  average  Nineteenth  Century  descend- 
ant of  the  Aztec  and  Toltec  is  not  luxurious  in  these 
things.  Most  of  the  Mexican  servants  employed  by 
foreigners  ask  nothing  but  the  privilege  of  lying  on 
the  kitchen  or  hallway  floors  when  sleep  overtakes 
them. 

Around  the  board  were  already  seated  the  host, 
and  five  or  six  rancheros,  Esther  being  the  only 
woman  guest  of  the  establishment,  and  perhaps  the 
only  one  it  had  ever  known.  Both  of  the  Americans 
were  sufficiently  hungry  to  eat  heartily  of  the  eggs, 
coffee,  milk  and  bread  offered  them,  for  the  landlord 
knew  that  the  "Spanish  breakfast"  of  coffee  and 
bread  alone  would  not  suffice  for  these  people.  No 
unpleasant  attention  was  shown  by  any  of  the  men 
to  the  American  girl,  though  the  women  of  the  house 
watched  her  narrowly  and  discussed  her  in  whis- 
pers. 

When  the  meal  was  ended  Maybury  asked  the 
landlord  to  get  the  horses  and  guides  as  soon  as 
possible,  that  they  might  begin  their  ride  to  the  car* 


A   NI«HT   AT   GARCIA.  877 

before  the  day  grew  too  warm.  Although  the  man 
replied  that  he  would  do  so,  and  actually  gave  the 
preliminary  directions,  the  dilatoriness  of  the  country 
was  manifest. 

There  were  numberless  causes  for  delay.  One  of 
the  saddles — the  one  to  be  used  by  the  lady — required 
repairs,  which  consumed  an  hour.  The  principal 
guide  could  not  be  found,  not  having  been  notified 
the  previous  evening,  as  he  should  have  been.  A 
permit  to  visit  the  cave  must  be  obtained  from  the 
agent  of  its  owner.  Then,  when  the  hands  of  the 
watch  pointed  to  half-past  nine,  the  travelers,  with 
one  of  the  guides,  started  through  the  village,  and 
were  suddenly  halted  for  a  good  half  hour  in  front 
of  the  bakery,  where  the  bread  they  were  to  take  as 
part  of  their  lunch  was  being  baked. 

Maybury  fretted  a  little,  but  Esther  did  not  mind 
these  things  in  the  least.  They  were  only  sources 
of  amusement  to  her,  and  she  laughed  good-natur- 
edly at  his  wrinkled  forehead.  As  no  one  could 
tell  how  long  the  bread  would  be  in  baking,  the 
travelers  rode  their  horses  over  to  the  store  kept  by 
Sefior  Hernandez,  whom  Maybury  questioned  anew 
as  to  the  character  of  his  landlord  and  the  safety  of 
guests  in  a  house  that  was  not  ornamented  with 
locks.  The  seflor  answered  positively  that  nothing 
could  be  more  secure.  The  landlord  was  the  prin- 
cipal man  in  the  place.  No  one  had  ever  complained 
of  his  usage  there.  Then  he  was  asked  about  the 
guides  that  had  been  engaged,  and  of  whom  one, 
Jose,  had  not  yet  been  found.  "  Ah,  if  you  hare 
Jose,  you  are  all  right,"  he  said.  "  There  is  no 
guide  like  Jose.  And  also  he  speaks  a  little  of  the 


378  YOUNO   MI88    QIDDT. 

English.  Yes,  he  will  be  discovered.  He  has  not  gone 
far.  There  is  time  enough.  The  cave  will  remain 
there  until  you  reach  it." 

Returning  to  the  bakery  it  was  learned  that  a 
wonderful  thing  had  happened.  Not  only  had  the 
bread  completed  its  apprenticeship  in  the  oven  and 
been  transferred  with  other  food  to  the  carrier  horse, 
but  the  sought-for  Jose"  had  actually  arrived  and 
could  now  be  found  at  his  residence  a  little  farther 
down  the  street.  The  steeds  were  soon  speeding 
toward  the  place  indicated,  followed  by  quite  a  large- 
sized  collection  of  half-grown  children,  who  regarded 
Esther  as  a  genuine  curiosity. 

Ten  minutes  at  Jos6's  door,  and  then  the  chief 
guide  appeared,  a  handsome,  bright-eyed  young  man, 
at  sight  of  whom  the  travelers  took  renewed  courage. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  adobe  house  were  two  women, 
whom  he  introduced  as  "My  sis'"  and  "My  li'l 
wife."  The  latter  was  very  young,  hardly  more  than 
fifteen,  if  so  much,  and  much  abashed  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  foreign  lady.  She  was  dressed  in  a  gown 
of  calico,  which  seemed  to  constitute  her  only  gar- 
ment. Her  bare  feet  were  as  brown  as  her  hands, 
but  her  face  was  considerably  lighter  than  her  hus- 
band's, or  indeed  any  of  the  natives  about  her. 

As  soon  as  the  limits  of  the  village  were  reached 
all  of  the  horses  were  spurred  into  a  gentle  canter. 
Esther  felt  the  exhilaration  of  the  ride  and  of  the 
delightful  air,  as  balmy  in  that  month  of  March  as 
it  would  be  in  the  best  part  of  a  Northern  June. 
Along  the  poorly  cultivated  road  occasional  cherry- 
trees  were  seen  hanging  full  of  blossoms.  Fields  to 
the  right  or  the  left  were  sterile  or  rich  in  green. 


in  TBS  yifiom'B  OATS.  279 

according  to  the  lack  or  abundance  of  water,  so  un- 
evenly distributed  in  this  territory.  But  all  the  sky 
was  clear 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 
IN  THE  VIRGIN'S   CAVE. 

Jos6  proved  from  the  first  the  most  entertaining  of 
guides.  He  had  learned  his  English,  he  said,  on  the 
coast,  though  he  was  born  in  Garcia.  Esther  talked 
with  him  whenever  the  horses  came  to  a  walk,  find- 
ing him  as  interesting  as  the  country  through  which 
she  was  passing. 

"  Have  you  any  children  ?"  she  inquired,  when  she 
was  on  easy  terms  with  the  young  fellow.  The 
pretty  wife  she  had  seen  at  his  cabin  door  was  con- 
tinually before  her  mind. 

"  No  ;  got  none,"  replied  Jose.  M  Neb'  had  none 
child'en." 

"  There  are  many  in  your  village.* 

Jos6  nodded  assent,  gravely. 

"  Yes,  it's  so.  Many  child'en  in  village,  but  my 
li'l  wife  neb'  had  none." 

Thinking  she  detected  a  trace  of  regret  in  his  tone, 
Esther  was  silent  for  several  minutes.  Maybury 
was  riding  by  her  side,  and  she  fancied  that  he  wore 
a  look  of  comical  interest  in  her  queries. 

"  How  long  have  you  been  married  ?"  she  asked 
the  guide. 

"  Been  marry  ten  week  ;  ten  week  marry  to  my  li'l 
wife  ;  an'  neb'  had  no  child'en." 

Maybury   could    not   help   laughing  outright,  to 


- 


TOITKG  MISS  GIDDY. 


save  his  life.  But  Jos6  looked  at  him  with  the  same 
immovable  gravity  he  had  hitherto  shown.  Esther 
reddened  with  vexation,  and  for  some  time  left  the 
conversation  to  the  men  of  the  party.  However,  the 
subject  of  the  guide's  wife  could  not  quite  be 
dropped  and  she  ventured  to  enter  upon  it  again 
after  a  time. 

"Your  wife  is  much  whiter  than  any  of  your 
people,  Jos6.  She  must  have  white  people's  blood 
in  her." 

The  guide  listened  attentively. 

"  Look  lige  it,"  he  answered,  gutterally. 

Maybury  restrained  his  laughter  this  time  and  the 
horses  were  urged  again  into  a  canter.  It  was  said 
to  be  ten  miles  to  the  cave,  but  it  was  a  long  road 
for  that  distance.  Very  little  of  it  was  shaded  in 
the  least.  The  only  people  met  on  the  way  were 
donkey-men  with  loads  of  wood  strapped  on  the 
backs  of  their  beasts,  attesting  the  poverty  of  the 
country.  It  was  learned  that  these  loads,  which 
consumed  a  long  day  in  cutting  and  conveying  to 
the  town,  brought  only  thirty  to  fifty  cents,  and  part 
of  this  had  to  be  paid  to  the  inexorable  owner  of  the 
mountain-side,  or  the  municipal  authorities.  The 
donkey-men  were  barefooted  and  poorly  clad,  but 
they  saluted  the  travelers  with  polite  expressions 
and  were  doubtless  contented  with  their  lot.  All  of 
them  seemed  to  know  the  guides. 

It  was  noon  when  the  travelers  reached  the  bottom 
of  the  mountain  in  which  the  Cueva  de  la  Vergen 
was  located.  Jos6  asked  if  they  would  like  to  stop 
here  for  lunch  before  attempting  the  climb,  but  both 
Maybury  and  Miss  Strange  said  they  preferred 
reaching  the  mouth  of  the  cave  before  breaking  their 


DT  THE  VIRGIN'S  OAYM.  381 

fatt.  Dismounting  merely  to  rest  their  animals  for 
a  few  minutes,  they  were  soon  again  in  the  saddle 
and  upon  the  upward  road.  And  now  began  one  of 
the  most  tiresome  of  journeys.  The  cave  entrance 
was  at  least  four  thousand  feet  away  by  the  winding 
path  from  the  valley.  The  road  was  paved  with 
rolling  stones,  which  not  only  gathered  no  moss,  but 
made  a  most  insecure  footing  for  the  horses.  Some- 
times it  was  doubtful  whether  the  beasts  advanced 
or  receded  after  taking  a  forward  step. 

Jose  responded  to  all  suggestions  that  they  were 
quite  used  to  it,  and  that  they  had  made  the  journey 
many  times  before.  All  roads  have  an  end,  and  in 
an  hour  after  starting  from  the  base  of  the  hill,  the 
travelers  reached  their  destination  and  saw  the 
opening  of  the  cave  just  above  them. 

Both  were  perspiring  under  the  hot  sun  of  mid- 
day, and  very  glad  to  dismount  again.  The  assist- 
ant who  had  come  with  Jose  took  off  the  saddles 
and  tethered  the  horses  near  by.  To  a  question 
what  they  were  to  eat  he  answered  that  it  was  much 
better  for  them  not  to  touch  food  until  they  reached 
home  at  night.  Esther  looked  with  pity  at  the 
jaded  animals,  but  she  could  do  nothing  to  aid  them. 
No  provender  had  been  brought,  and  except  for 
what  branches  they  might  break  from  the  scrub- 
trees  of  the  mountain-side  they  were  not  likely  to  get 
anything.  To  her  blank  look  Maybury  replied  that 
the  guide  was  right  according  to  the  usually 
accepted  theories  of  the  rancheros.  He  had  known 
of  men  riding  seventy-five  miles  on  the  prairies, 
without  feeding  their  horses  until  they  reached  their 
destination.  It  was  said  they  did  better  work  on 
empty  stomachs. 


342  YOT7K0   MISS   GIDDY. 

"  Nevertheless,"  he  added,  "that  rule  does  not 
apply  to  human  beings,  and  I  am  very  glad  it  does 
not,  for  I  am  famished.  Give  us  what  lunch  you  have 
there,  Jose",  and  let  us  begin  to  eat  before  we  explore 
the  inside  of  this  wonderful  freak  of  nature  here." 

It  was  lucky  that  both  of  the  travelers  were  hun- 
gry. The  lunch  turned  out  to  consist  only  of  bread, 
boiled  eggs,  and  warm  water,  the  latter  brought  in 
bottles.  As  they  had  eaten  eggs  for  supper  and 
breakfast,  their  landlord  had  naturally  concluded 
that  nothing  would  be  more  agreeable  to  them  for 
lunch.  The  ride  had  so  sharpened  their  appetites 
that  neither  criticised  the  quality  of  the  refresh- 
ment, and  even  the  warm  water  was  swallowed  with 
gusto,  they  taking  turns  at  the  bottle  in  true  com- 
rade fashion. 

It  was  three  o'clock  when  they  entered  the  cave. 
Josd  had  brought  with  him  a  long  cord  and  several 
candles.  He  lit  one  of  the  candles  and  divided  the 
rest  of  them  with  his  employer.  Then  he  took  one 
end  of  the  cord  and  began  to  penetrate  into  the 
interior  of  the  cave,  leaving  the  rest  of  it  in  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Maybury,  who  was  to  assist  Esther  along  and 
follow  the  guide  by  means  of  the  communication 
thus  established. 

For  some  time  this  worked  very  well.  Within  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  a  lovely  region  was  found,  in 
which  the  stalactites  and  stalagmites  were  most 
wonderful.  The  explorers  climbed  up  steep  inclines 
and  down  precipitous  ways,  turning  to  the  right  and 
left  in  a  puzzling  fashion.  Their  progress  was  nec- 
essarily slow  and  the  candles  gave  but  a  very  imper- 
fect light  to  their  pathway.  Lost  in  admiration  of 
the  beauties  every  moment  disclosed,  they  filled  the 


IV   THE   VIRGINS   OAT*.  2&3 

air  with  exclamations.  One  candle  being  half-burned 
out  they  left  it  standing  on  a  shelf  of  the  rock,  as 
they  had  been  directed  to  do,  and  lit  another  to 
carry  with  them.  Once  in  a  while  they  could  hear 
the  voice  of  Jose  calling  out,  and  their  answers  re- 
verberated with  a  thousand  echoes. 

All  at  once  a  gigantically  tall  chamber  loomed  be- 
fore them.  Pressing  forward,  delighted  with  what 
they  saw,  they  found  they  could  make  much  faster 
progress  than  before.  On  the  other  side  of  the  room, 
for  such  it  appeared  to  be,  a  gallery  was  reached, 
that  looked  as  if  carved  out  of  the  rock  with  human 
hands.  Along  this  the  explorers  passed,  until  the 
second  candle  was  half-burned,  when  Maybury 
stopped  to  leave  it  like  the  other,  as  a  mark  to  their 
returning  road. 

"  Why,"  he  said,  turning  about,  "  you  have  not  got 
hold  of  the  cord  !" 

"  No,"  said  Esther,  "  I  supposed  you  had  it." 

It  was  true.  In  their  impetuosity  neither  of  them 
had  thought  for  the  previous  twenty  minutes  of  that 
important  matter. 

"What  idiots!"  cried  Maybury,  with  vexation. 
Then  he  called  out  in  a  loud  voice  : 

"  Jose  !     Jose  !" 

The  echoes  were  tremendous,  but  no  human  voice, 
so  far  as  they  could  tell,  answered. 

"Jose  !  Jose  !"  called  Douglass  again.  No  reply 
cam*. 

"  \Ve  shall  have  to  retrace  our  steps  ,"  he  said. 
"  It  is  too  bad  !  We  were  getting  along  so  well." 

Backward  they  crept,  pausing  every  hundred  feet 
to  cry  out  again  for  "  Jost  '/"  And  for  all  they  could 


284  TOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

hear  the  world  might  have  come  to  an  end  and  every 
other  person  in  it  but  themselves  have  died. 

"  This  is  useless,"  said  Maybury,  at  last.  "  We 
must  have  mistaken  our  way,  or  we  should  have 
reached  a  candle  by  this  time.  We  might  as  well  sit 
down  here  and  wait  for  him  to  find  us.  He  will 
notice  by-and-by  that  we  are  not  coming." 

The  candle  he  held  gave  a  very  faint  and  flickering 
light.  Winds  from  unknown  and  mysterious  sources 
blew  around  them  in  little  gusts  that  interfered  with 
its  diminutive  flame.  He  could  see  that  his  girl  com- 
panion had  summoned  courage  to  meet  the  emer- 
gency, instead  of  preparing  to  scream  or  faint,  as  so 
many  of  her  sex  would  have  done.  Both  knew  that 
there  were  grave  dangers  in  connection  with  their 
situation.  This  cave  had  never  been  thoroughly  ex- 
plored. It  might  take  Jos6  a  long  time  to  find  them. 
However,  Douglass  had  evidently  hit  upon  the  best 
plan,  when  he  decided  to  remain  still  for  the  present. 
They  could  not  be  more  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile,  or 
at  the  most  a  quarter,  from  the  entrance.  They  sat 
down  on  the  hard  floor  and  talked  in  low  tones,  the 
better  to  hear  in  case  their  guide's  voice  should 
reach  them.  And  every  few  minutes  Maybury  hal- 
looed with  all  his  might,  " Jost !  I  say,  Jost '.'" 

Nothing  came  of  it  all,  and  finally,  despairing  of 
getting  rescued  in  this  way,  the  explorers  began 
again  to  search  for  the  outer  world.  They  were 
quite  sure  that  the  exit  lay  in  a  certain  direction,  and 
that  they  should  not  be  at  a  disadvantage  by  going 
that  way,  Maybury  took  his  knife  and  cut  marks  in 
the  rock — scratches  that  he  could  recognize — so 
that  he  might  return  if  it  seemed  wise.  But  though 
they  walked  a  good  deal  farther  than  it  had  taken 


IN  THE   VIKGIN'S   CAYE.  285 

them  in  the  first  place  they  heard  nothing  of  the 
guide,  nor  did  he,  so  far  as  they  could  ascertain, 
hear  anything  of  them. 

When  all  of  the  candles  that  Maybury  carried 
were  burned  out  but  one,  he  looked  at  his  watch, 
and  told  Esther,  with  a  nervous  feeling,  that  it  was 
now  seven  o'clock.  Not  a  particle  of  natural  light 
penetrated  those  depths.  It  might  have  been  bright 
day  or  midnight  outside,  for  all  the  difference  it 
would  have  made  there. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  Douglass,  falteringly,  "  that 
Jose  has  gone  back  or  sent  his  assistant,  to  get  help 
from  the  village  to  find  us.  In  that  case  it  is  more 
than  likely  that,  with  Spanish  slowness,  they  will  not 
enter  on  their  work  before  to-morrow  morning.  We 
ought  to  save  this  remaining  candle  to  use  in  follow- 
ing their  voices  when  they  come  for  us." 

Esther  looked  at  him  steadily,  and  answered 
"  Yes." 

"  I  shall  be  obliged,  I  fear,  to  occupy  the  same 
room  with  you  again  to-night,"  he  continued,  with  a 
grim  attempt  at  pleasantry.  "  While  the  light  is 
burning  let  me  arrange  your  couch,  which  will  not 
be  any  too  comfortable  at  the  best." 

She  stood  there  silently  while  he  selected  the 
safest  place  he  could  find,  and  taking  off  his  coat, 
rolled  it  up  for  a  pillow. 

"  It  is  all  I  have  to  offer,"  he  said,  gallantly,  point- 
ing to  it  with  a  gesture  that  suggested  immediate 
possession. 

"  I  will  not  take  it  !"  she  retorted,  with  dignity. 
**  You  have  absolutely  nothing  left  for  yourself." 

**  Oh,  yes,"  he  laughed.     "  A  man  is  never  without 


286  TOUHG    MISS  GIDDT. 

means  to  make  a  pillow.  He  always  has— his 
boots." 

She  shook  her  head  decidedly. 

"You  shall  not  lie  down  without  your  coat.  You 
would  be  sure  to  catch  cold.  There  is — there  is — a 
better  way." 

Maybury  wondered  what  she  would  suggest.  The 
candle  had  burned  very  low  and  would  not  last 
much  longer. 

"  Put  on  your  coat  again  and  take  off  your  boots," 
she  said,  in  a  scarcely  audible  voice,  "  and  lie  down 
with  them  under  your  head.  Then  I  will  shoW 
you." 

He  smilingly  complied,  like  a  slave  whose  duty  it 
is  to  obey.  Before  he  did  so,  however,  he  put  the 
remaining  candle  within  easy  reach,  and  his  match- 
box also. 

"  I  am  here,"  he  said,  when  all  was  ready.  "  And 
now — what  ?" 

The  girl  advanced  toward  him.  She  knelt  by  his 
side  and  drew  his  left  arm  out  from  his  body.  Gaz- 
ing intently  into  his  eyes  by  the  last  expiring 
glimmer  of  the  candle  she  drooped  her  face  nearer 
and  nearer  to  his,  until  their  lips  met  ! 

It  was  the  last  thing  on  earth  he  had  imagined. 
The  effect  upon  him  for  the  moment  was  to  turn 
him  into  stone. 

Then  Esther  laid  her  head  on  the  arm  she  had 
arranged  for  her  pillow,  and  saying  "  Good  -night, 
Douglass,"  went  away  to  dreamland. 


ul  MUST  COSFE8S  SOME  THDf(M»W  387 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

WI   MUST   CONFESS    SOME   THINGS." 

The  condition  of  the  previous  night  was  completely 
reversed.  Then  it  was  Douglass  who  slept  and 
Esther  who  lay  awake  until  she  could  hear  the  regu- 
lar breathing  that  showed  he  was  unconscious.  Now 
it  was  the  young  girl  who  allowed  the  arms  of  Mor- 
pheus as  well  as  those  of  her  companion  to  envelop 
her. 

She  was  very  tired,  for  one  thing.  The  long  ride 
in  the  hot  sun,  the  hard  climb  of  the  mountain-side, 
the  uncertain  footing  in  the  cave  during  the  four 
hours  she  had  ascended  and  descended  its  winding 
ways,  had  nearly  exhausted  her  slight  strength. 
But  more  than  this  was  the  feminine  longing  for 
protection  from  the  unseen  dangers  that  might  lurk 
in  that  gloomy  cavern.  The  child  hides  its  head  in 
its  mother's  lap,  and  defies  the  world  to  injure  it. 
The  woman  in  the  extremity  of  fear  seeks  the  shel- 
tering arms  of  the  man  she  loves. 

The  man  she  loves  ?  Yes,  Douglass  Maybury  was 
the  man  that  Esther  loved.  She  had  not  meant  he 
should  know  it  for  a  long  time  yet,  but  the  circum- 
stances proved  too  much  for  her.  Her  action  told  him 
what  she  might  have  concealed  for  months.  As  her 
lips  touched  his  he  knew  her  secret,  and  when  her 
head  pressed  his  arm  a  thrill  passed  through  him. 

Nearly  as  tired  as  the  girl,  Maybury  soon  slum- 
bered by  her  side.  When  he  awoke  he  found  her 
Bitting  up,  and  for  an  instant  thought  she  bad  wan- 


288  TOITNO  MISS  OIDDT. 

dered  from  him.  She  quieted  his  fears  by  saying 
that  she  had  just  awakened,  and  asked  him  to  light 
a  match  and  see  what  time  it  was.  A  look  at  his 
watch  showed  that  it  was  five  in  the  morning,  or  at 
least  they  both  concluded  it  was  morning,  knowing 
that  it  was  seven  at  night  when  they  lay  down. 

With  the  expiring  glimmer  of  the  match  the  dark- 
ness seemed  more  inky  than  before.  As  neither  of 
them  wanted  sleep  they  began  to  talk  of  their  situa- 
tion, and  of  the  probability  that  Jos6  would  be  able 
to  reach  them  with  a  rescuing  party.  It  was  clear 
to  both  that  they  must  have  wandered  a  good  long 
way  from  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  otherwise  some  of 
their  calls  should  have  been  heard  by  the  guide. 
Maybury  said  he  had  no  fears,  for  he  would  not  have 
admitted  any  in  the  presence  of  this  girl,  and  she 
answered  encouragingly  that  no  doubt  they  would 
be  out  by  noon,  thankful  that  he  could  not  see  the 
faltering  lip  with  which  she  made  the  statement. 

"I  would  give  a  thousand  reals  for  a  good  break- 
fast, all  the  same,"  said  Douglass.  "  You  must  be 
starved  to  death,  poor  child  !" 

"  I'm  not  very  hungry,"  she  answered.  "  I  would 
rather  have  a  good  lamp  than  all  the  food  in  Mexico. 
I  don't  like  to  have  my  room  so  dark  at  this  time  in 
the  morning,  I  must  admit." 

"  It's  light  enough  outside,"  he  said,  with  an 
attempt  at  humor.  "  If  only  our  curtains  weren't 
stuck  down  so  !" 

They  decided  that  it  would  be  the  height  of  folly 
to  take  a  single  step  further,  when  there  was  no  way 
to  tell  whether  they  were  going  toward  the  entrance 
or  away  from  it.  The  best  thing  was  to  stay  where 
they  were,  listening  for  any  sound  that  indicated 


289 

human  life.  The  morning  passed,  however,  and 
nothing  came  to  give  them  the  least  encouragement. 
At  what  seemed  very  long  intervals  Douglass  would 
illumine  the  cave  for  a  moment  while  he  consulted 
his  watch,  only  to  find  that  less  than  an  hour  had 
usually  elapsed  since  the  last  inspection  of  its 
impassive  face.  At  last  the  womanly  nature  of 
Esther  gave  way  under  the  strain.  She  put  her  arms 
around  his  neck  and  began  to  sob  softly  on  his 
bosom. 

"They  will  never  find  us  !"  she  said.  "  We  shall 
be  left  here  to  die  !  Oh,  why  did  we  ever  come  !" 

Intensely  distressed,  he  kissed  away  her  tears,  and 
tried  to  reassure  her,  pretending  to  have  heard  some- 
thing that  sounded  like  voices,  and  bidding  her  hush 
that  he  might  listen  again.  When  it  was  evident  that 
nothing  in  the  shape  of  human  beings  bore  any  trace 
of  being  near,  the  girl  resumed  her  weeping  and  clung 
passionately  to  her  companion,  her  entire  frame 
shaken  with  her  emotion. 

"  We  shall  die  here,  I  am  sure  of  it,"  she  said,  when 
she  could  speak  intelligibly.  "You  will  have  lost 
your  life  for  me.  If  I  had  not  been  with  you,  you 
would  have  held  to  that  cord,  but  you  let  go  of  it 
thinking  I  had  it  in  my  own  hand.  Ah,  is  it  not  ter- 
rible that  one  I  love  so  well  should  suffer  through 
my  fault  !  Listen  to  me  :  It  can  do  no  harm  to  tell 
you  now,  when  we  are  so  near  the  end  of  our  lives. 
I  have  loved  you  ever  since  that  day  you  met  me  in 
the  street— a  poor,  friendless  little  girl — and  stopped 
to  discuss  with  me  the  one  hope  that  made  my  exist- 
ence bearable." 

There  was  little  to  be  gained  by  stopping  her.    It 


390  TOUKO  MISS    OlDDY. 

comforted  her  in  her  deep  distress  and  Maybury 
allowed  her  to  proceed. 

"  I  must  confess  some  things  to  you,"  proceeded 
Esther,  with  trembling  voice.  "  I  learned  a  few 
months  ago  who  gave  all  the  money  to  educate  me, 
unselfishly,  generously,  nobly,  making  no  claim  in 
return,  acting  out  the  honorable  nature  that  was  in 
him.  I  knew,  in  spite  of  what  you  told  me  in  New 
Orleans,  that  he  was  neither  old  nor  ugly,  that  he 
was  in  fact  high-born,  young  and  handsome.  I  had 
called  at  Mr.  Chitty's  office  for  some  money.  He 
went  to  one  of  his  clerks  and  asked  him  in  a  whisper 
to  bring  the  account-book  of  one  of  his  clients.  My 
ears  are  quick  and  the  name  came  to  me  with  perfect 
distinctness.  In  a  second  everything  was  clear.  And 
when,  the  next  month,  the  school  caught  fire,  and  I 
was  free  for  the  rest  of  the  year,  and  I  found  by  a 
newspaper  that  my  dear  benefactor  was  in  the  South, 
nothing  would  do  but  I  must  look  on  his  face 
once  more.  And  when  I  saw  him,  as  good,  as  hand- 
some, as  generous  as  ever,  I  was  impelled  to  go  to 
Mexico  with  him,  because  I  knew  such  a  man  would 
deal  with  me  as  honestly  as  if  I  were  his  sister.  I 
knew  he  would  not  mistake  me,  and  time  has  proved 
that  I  was  right.  But  I  did  not  dream  that  in  fol- 
lowing the  footsteps  I  loved  so  well  I  should  take 
them  to  the  grave." 

Hysterically  she  clung  to  him  and  her  voice  was 
choked  as  she  uttered  the  astonishing  sentences. 
Almost  crushed  by  what  he  heard,  Maybury  had 
neither  the  courage  nor  the  heart  to  utter  the  denial 
that  rose  to  his  lips. 

"I  should  not  have  thought  you  would  have  dared 
go  to  New  Orleans  entirely  alone,"  he  ventured. 


"I   MUST   CONFESS   SOME   THIHGS."  291 

"But  it  was  the  second  time  I  had  been  there,"  she 
confessed.  "Yes,  the  previous  Mardi  Gras  I  had 
gone  also  to  Mobile,  to  spend  a  short  vacation  with 
my  teacher,  and  she  had  taken  me  to  New  Orleans  to 
witness  the  parade  of  the  Carnival.  I  knew  you 
were  there,  though  I  did  not  suspect  in  the  least 
your  connection  with  my  fortunes.  I  only  remem- 
bered you  as  the  kind  young  gentleman  of  a  bygone 
day,  whose  face  had  ever  been  dear  to  my  memory. 
I  procured  a  ticket  to  a  ball  that  I  had  accidentally 
heard  you  were  to  attend,  and — ' 

She  stopped,  for  her  companion,  forgetting  the 
darkness,  rose  to  his  feet. 

"It  was  you — at  that  ball !"  he  said,  in  freezing 
accents.  "It — was — you!" 

"  Yes,"  she  admitted.  "I  had  been  looking  for 
you  in  vain,  all  over  the  city,  and  almost  despaired 
of  finding  you  when  you  came  out  of  a  restaurant  on 
Canal  street,  early  that  evening.  Another  gentleman 
was  with  you,  and  I  could  not  very  well  make  my- 
self known.  I  walked  behind  you  for  several  blocks, 
hoping  you  would  soon  be  alone,  but  the  gentleman 
went  as  far  as  your  room  on  St.  Charles  street,  and 
you  immediately  went  up  the  stairs.  The  last  thing 
he  said  as  he  parted  from  you  was  this  :  '  What  time 
shall  I  meet  you  and  where  ?'  '  At  the  Pickwick,'  you 
answered,  '  about  one  o'clock  to-night.'  '  Remember, 
if  you  miss  me,'  he  said,  '  it  is  the  ball  of  the  Weil- 
Known  Gentlemen.'  I  returned  to  my  hotel,  waited 
till  my  friend  was  asleep,  and  went  to  the  hall  where 
the  ball  was  in  progress.  When  you  arrived,  hidden 
behind  my  mask,  I  spoke  to  you." 

May  bury  was  staggered.     He  leaned  against  the 


292  .          TODNO    MISS   «UDDY. 

shelf  of  rock  under  which  he  had  passed  the  flight, 
and  wondered  if  he  were  sleeping  or  waking, 

"  It  cannot  be  you  are  speaking  the  truth/'  he 
stammered,  finally.  "How  should  you  know  where 
the  'WelUKnown  Gentlemen' were  to  hold  the  ball  T 

''  I  engaged  a  young  man,  a  brother  of  one  of  the 
hotel  boys,  to  go  with  me  to  the  place.  From  his 
unrestrained  chatter  I  learned  about  its  character 
also,  and  on  the  way  we  stopped  and  I  bought  a 
mask.  I  am  not  easily  deterred  when  I  start  to  do  a 
thing,  and  I  was  determined  to  see  you." 

The  young  man's  head  was  in  a  whirl,  How 
could  he  reconcile  the  past  with  the  present  ? 

"I  simply  cannot  believe  you,"  he  said,  sldwly. 
"  But,  when  we  are  out  of  this  trouble,  if  you  will 
show  me  the  mate  to  that  article  you  dropped  On  the 
ball-room  floor  in  the  midst  of  your  dance,  I  will  say 
no  more." 

For  an  instant,  as  Esther  began  to  understand  this 
request,  her  eyes  gave  forth  such  fire  as  should  have 
served  to  lighten  the  cavern. 

"How  can  you  insult  me  like  this!"  she  cried. 
"  How  can  you  compare  me  to  that  shameless 
creature  whose  dance  I  would  not  even  cross  the 
room  to  witness  !  Oh,  it  is  scandalous  !  And  I 
have  put  such  confidence,  such  faith  in  you,  not- 
withstanding all  I  saw  and  heard  that  terrible 
night !" 

Had  the  roof  of  the  cave  fallen,  broken  in  frag- 
ments, at  his  feet,  Douglass  Maybury  would  not  have 
been  much  more  perturbed.  He  saw  the  dreadful 
error  ae  had  committed,  and  as  soon  as  he  could 
speak  he  proffered  his  most  humble  and  sincere 
apologies.  He  reminded  the  sobbing  girl  that  both 


99* 

the  women  who  spoke  to  him  that  night  were  equally 
hidden  from  his  eyes,  with  nothing  to  give  the  least 
indication  of  their  identity.  But  he  could  not  con- 
sole her.  She  felt  that  the  insult  was  too  deep  for 
immediate  forgiveness.  After  striving  in  vain  to 
get  her  to  speak  the  words  of  pardon,  he  gave  up  the 
attempt  in  despair. 

It  was  now  past  the  hour  of  noon,  and  a  faint 
feeling  began  to  oppress  him.  The  lack  of  dinner, 
breakfast  and  lunch  was  doing  its  work  on  his 
digestive  organs.  His  courage,  strong  while  his 
companion  gave  him  her  sympathy  and  love,  hegan 
to  wane.  There  were  only  two  or  three  matches 
left,  and  but  the  one  candle  which  he  had  not  yet 
dared  to  light.  In  his  distress  he  bethought  himself 
of  his  pistol,  and,  telling  Esther  what  he  was  about 
to  do,  he  began  firing  it  at  intervals  of  two  or 
three  minutes,  hoping  that  the  reports  would  attract 
attention  from  the  outside,  and  possibly  serve  as  a 
clue  for  the  rescuers  who,  he  was  sure,  must  ultim- 
ately arrive. 

The  shots  made  a  terrific  roar  in  the  vaulted 
chamber.  The  echoes  re-echoed  it  seemed  a  hun- 
dred times  before  they  relapsed  into  perfect  stillness. 
Esther  felt  a  new  terror  each  time  the  noise  was 
repeated.  She  wished  heartily  she  had  again  around 
her  those  protecting  arms,  or  at  least  that  her  com- 
panion's hand  might  be  clasped  in  hers  during  the 
unearthly  reverberations.  As  Maybury  was  about  to 
empty  the  last  chamber  of  the  revolver,  the  ears  of 
the  watchers  were  startled  by  the  sound  of  another 
pistol,  at  a  long  distance  away,  but  seemingly  also 
inside  the  cave.  Douglass  turned  his  head  toward 


2&4  TOCKO   MIM    OIDDT. 

the  place  where  Esther  sat,  and  knew  instinctiv«ly 
that  she  was  also  looking  in  his  direction. 

"  Did  you  hear  a  sound  ?"  he  asked. 

"Yes." 

"  It  was  not  the  mere  echo  of  my  last  shot  ¥' 

"  No.     It  was  quite  different." 

"  Then  they  have  begun  to  search  for  us  !"  he 
exclaimed,  joyfully.  "  Esther,  we  are  saved  !" 

He  groped  toward  the  girl,  intending  to  clasp 
her  to  his  heart  in  thankfulness,  but  she  had  divined 
his  purpose  and  moved  away.  Even  the  pleasure  of 
a  rescue  could  not  blot  the  fact  from  her  mind  that 
he  had  thought  her  capable  of  an  infamous  exhibi- 
tion before  a  crowd  of  disreputable  people.  It  seemed 
doubly  cruel  after  she  had  done  violence  to  her 
maiden  modesty  by  unveiling  the  deep  affection  she 
had  conceived  for  him.  Five  minutes  earlier  sh« 
would  have  joined  in  his  rejoicing,  but  for  the 
moment  she  could  not  utter  a  word. 

It  was  more  than  two  hours  before  the  rescuers 
reached  them.  The  passages  in  the  cave  were 
intricate  and  numerous.  They  could  hear  the  voices 
of  Jose  and  of  their  Garcia  landlord  long  before 
Maybury  could  make  his  own  voice  heard  in  return. 
And  after  that  it  was  some  time  before  they  could 
talk  so  as  to  be  understood  by  each  other.  But 
the  rescuers  reached  them  at  last,  and  their  bright 
lanterns  sent  a  still  greater  ray  into  the  hearts 
that  had  nearly  given  up  to  despair. 

Jose  had  been  to  the  village  and  brought  six  men 
with  him,  besides  a  quantity  of  rope  and  plenty  of 
candles.  He  had  been  as  quick  about  it  as  it  is  pos- 
sible for  any  one  having  a  strain  of  Spanish  blood  in 


"i  MINT  ooorrMi  BOUX 


him  to  be,  and  he  thought  he  had  spent  a  marvel- 
ously  short  time  in  the  work. 

The  travelers  were  regaled  with  another  instal- 
ment of  eggs,  bread  and  water,  which  they  did  not 
hesitate  this  time  to  accept  with  thankfulness.  The 
Mexicans  noticed,  however,  that  the  Americano  said 
little  to  his  "  wife,"  and  that  when  he  did  she  replied 
briefly.  "  They  have  been  quarreling  again,"  said 
the  landlord  to  himself.  "  What  can  they  have  to 
fight  about,  for  the  love  of  God  !" 

"  You  are  too  tired  to  ride  as  far  as  Garcia  to- 
night, are  you  not  ?"  asked  Maybury,  when  th« 
lunch  was  disposed  of. 

She  looked  about  her  in  wonder. 

"I  cannot  stay  here,"  she  replied,  with  a  shade  of 
petulence. 

"  No,  but  Jos6  tells  me  there  is  a  mining-camp  a 
few  miles  away,  where  we  can  get  shelter." 

She  shook  her  head  doubtfully. 

"  I  had  rather  endure  the  ride,"  she  said.  "We 
have  plenty  of  time  before  dark.  We  can  go  slowly." 

He  sat  down  by  her,  unmindful  of  the  eyes  that 
watched  them. 

"  Esther,  my  dear  girl,"  said  he,  "  forgive  me.  You 
must  see  I  did  an  unintentional  injury  to  your  feel- 
ings. Had  the  cave  been  light  you  would  have  read 
the  incredulity  in  my  countenance  at  the  idea  I 
gained  from  your  statement.  I  am  certain  you  are 
all  that  is  good  and  pure." 

She  turned  her  swimming  eyes  full  upon  him. 

"  How  can  I  make  you  understand  ?"  she  said. 
"All  last  night  I  lay  in  your  arms,  with  as  little 
thought  of  wrong  as  a  bird  in  its  nest.  I  knew  you 
were  not  all  that  a  man  should  be,  but  I  thought  at 


29$  TOTJHO  MISS  GIDDY. 

least  you  had  respect  for  my  unhappy  situation,  and 
that  toward  me  your  thoughts  would  be  untainted. 
And  in  a  moment  I  saw  you  had  conceived  me  a 
woman  capable  of  any  evil.  It  is  horrible  !  I  can- 
not forget  it  !" 

He  wisely  said  no  more  to  her  at  the  time,  but 
directed  Jose"  to  have  the  animals  made  ready.  The 
homeward  journey  was  begun,  and  the  ten  miles 
consumed  four  hours. 

At  bed-time  Esther  said  she  had  lost  her  fear  of 
being  alone  and  asked  him  to  get  another  room  ;  to 
which  he  made  a  brief  but  pointed  refusal. 

"  I  will  not,"  he  replied.  "  If  any  harm  should 
happen  to  you  I  should  never  forgive  myself.  I  shall 
sleep  on  the  floor  as  I  did  the  other  night.  I  am 
getting  quite  fond  of  hard  mattresses,"  he  said,  try- 
ing to  smile. 

She  shut  her  lips  closely  together. 

"  I  positively  forbid  you  to  enter  my  room,"  she 
said,  coldly. 

"And  I  refuse  to  obey.  There  are  no  bolts  or 
locks,  and  you  cannot  keep  me  out." 

"You  are  acting  outrageously,"  said  the  girl,  hav- 
ing recourse  again  to  weeping. 

Maybury  did  not  reply  in  words.  He  took  Esther 
by  the  arm  and  walked  into  the  chamber  with  her  as 
if  she  were  a  child. 

"  Go  to  bed  and  sleep,"  he  said.  "  You  may  have 
an  illness  from  your  exposure,  if  you  are  not  careful." 

Making  a  bed  again  on  the  floor  he  curled  himself 
up,  with  his  boots  for  a  pillow.  But  try  as  he  might  it 
was  a  long  time  before  he  could  slumber. 

"  Last  night's  arrangement  was  ever  so  much 
better,"  he  murmured  aloud.  "  It's  as  dark  here  now 


*  AH  !  IT  IS  TBEBIBLE  !   TEBEIBLB  !"  297 

as  it  was  there.     Esther,  come  and  give  me  one  kiss, 
that's  a  good  girl." 

But  Esther  did  not  stir.  Her  pillow  was  wet  with 
her  fast  falling  tears.  This  man  whom  she  had 
learned  to  love  so  much,  had  suspected  her,  and  how 
could  she  tell  where  it  all  might  end  ? 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

"  AH  !   IT   IS   TERRIBLE  !    TERRIBL*  !** 

Sleep  is  a  great  restorer  of  the  nervous  systew. 
When  the  following  morning  dawned  Esther  Strange 
woke  before  her  protector.  She  saw  by  the  faint 
light  that  peeped  in  through  the  close  shutters  that 
Mr.  Maybury  was  still  lying  stretched  on  the  hard 
floor  of  the  room,  and  she  experienced  a  feeling  of 
remorse  for  the  harsh  things  she  had  said  to  him. 
How  could  he  have  treated  her  with  more  consider- 
ation. There  were  few  men,  she  opined,  who  would 
have  been  as  gentle,  as  thoughtful  as  he. 

He  opened  his  eyes  and  saw  her  gaze  fixed  upon 
him. 

"  What,  you  awake  !"  he  exclaimed,  rising  immedi- 
ately. "  It  must  be  later  than  I  supposed.  No,  it  is 
only  six  o'clock.  Nothing  is  the  matter,  I  hope." 

"  Nothing,"  said  the  girl,  "  except  that  I  am  sorry 
for  what  I  said  last  night,  and  want  you  to  forget  it 
as  soon  as  you  can." 

Her  voice  proclaimed  the  earnestness  of  her 
desire,  and  he  took  a  step  nearer  the  bed  on  which 


jgg  TOUNS    MI88    GIDDY. 

she  lay.     Then,  recollecting  himself,  he  walked  away 
from  her  and  opened  the  outer  door. 

"Don't  spend  a  moment  over  that  matter,"  he 
replied,  lightly.  "  If  we  were  to  discuss  it  an  hour 
I  should  only  agree  with  all  you  might  say.  It  was 
a  bad  slip,  I  know  that  as  well  as  you.  Lie  as  late 
as  you  please,  and  when  you  are  ready  I  will  send 
the  girl  to  assist  you  again." 

It  was  neither  the  time  nor  place  to  go  into  fur- 
ther details,  and  Esther  refrained  from  doing  so, 
knowing  that  she  could  express  herself  more  fully  at 
a  later  period.  But  she  did  say  that  she  was  quite 
ready  to  rise,  and  would  like  to  see  the  landlord's 
daughter  at  once. 

After  breakfast  the  question  arose  as  to  what 
should  next  be  done.  The  travelers  had  brought  all 
their  baggage  with  them,  not  having  fully  decided 
whether  or  not  to  return  to  Monterey.  Douglass 
tried  to  ascertain  what  Esther  preferred,  but  in  her 
repentant  mood  she  insisted  on  leaving  the  entire 
matter  to  him.  Try  as  he  might  he  could  not  get 
her  to  express  a  preference  for  any  place  or  route. 
At  last,  finding  that  she  was  determined  he  should 
decide,  he  said  they  would  go  on  south,  stopping  at 
Saltillo  the  first  day. 

Meek  as  any  feminine  Moses,  Esther  got  into  the 
lumbering  old  vehicle  that  carried  passengers  from 
the  "  hotel  "  to  the  station,  two  miles  or  more  away, 
and  left  Garcia  with  her  escort.  Two  days  at 
Saltillo  were  quite  enough  to  inspect  its  wonders. 
A  train  on  the  National  railroad  bore  them  on  to 
Catorce,  where  they  made  the  steep  ascent  to  the 
mining  town  and  enjoyed  immensely  the  novel 
experience.  Then,  after  a  good  rest,  they  went  to 


U  AH  I   IT    IS   TBEBIBLE  !   TERBIBlj;  !**  2d$ 

San  Luis  Potosi,  which  the  guide-book  told  them  was 
in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  plain,  but  which  the  long 
absence  of  rain  had  reduced  for  the  time  to  a  wind- 
swept desert.  Instead  of  earning  a  living  by  sup- 
plying food,  as  in  most  cities,  the  inhabitants  of  San 
Luis  seemed  mostly  engaged  in  selling  water.  At 
the  nearly  dry  public  wells,  and  the  barely  running 
public  fountains,  the  ragged  vendors  of  this  prime 
necessity  were  struggling  with  each  other  to  hus- 
band the  few  gills  that  could  be  obtained.  It  was 
sad  to  see  to  what  depths  of  misery  the  refusal  of 
the  elements  to  perform  their  functions  had  reduced 
a  population  ordinarily  happy  and  prosperous. 

Leaving  San  Luis  the  travelers  stopped  at  several 
other  places  of  minor  interest,  and  then  reached  the 
capital  of  the  country. 

It  was  April  when  they  arrived  in  the  City  of 
Mexico.  They  found  rooms  for  the  present  in  the 
Hotel  Jardin,  that  peculiar  hostelrie  located  in  what 
was,  like  many  other  prominent  buildings  in  that 
section,  a  convent  in  the  olden  time.  The  strong 
hand  of  Juarez  curbed  by  a  sweeping  act  of  confisca- 
tion the  power  of  the  church  and  its  satellites  that 
would  have  made  a  religious  oligarchy  out  of  what 
the  people  preferred  should  be  a  republic.  It  will 
remain  for  his  successors  to  make  this  wonderful 
old  city  one  of  the  most  attractive  residential  towns 
in  the  world,  by  their  new  system  of  drainage. 

Although  it  was  now  becoming  rather  too  warm 
to  suit  the  Northerners,  they  would  have  remained 
there  much  longer,  had  it  not  been  for  a  letter 
which  Maybury  received.  This  letter  was  in  the 
handwriting  of  Dr.  Parton,  and  conveyed  the  in- 
formation that  Senator  Scarlett  had  died  suddenly 


SOO  TOtTNO   MISS   GIDDY. 

while  in  the  West.  As  it  would  have  taken  a  full 
week  for  his  son-in-law  to  reach  New  York  it  had 
been  deemed  inexpedient  to  telegraph  him  to  attend 
the  funeral,  and  the  obsequies  had  taken  place  with 
only  the  usual  delay.  It  appeared  from  Dr.  Parton 
that  heart  disease  was  the  cause  assigned,  and  that 
no  one  had  suspected  the  existence  of  the  trouble 
nntil  its  fatal  termination.  The  Senator,  in  death  as 
in  life,  was  found  with  a  smile  on  his  lips. 

"  Mrs.  Maybury,  already  in  a  most  precarious  state 
of  health,"  wrote  the  doctor,  in  closing,  "is  naturally 
much  prostrated.  She  thinks  it  best,  from  a  business 
standpoint,  that  you  should  come  home  for  a  few 
weeks,  but  says  it  will  not  be  possible  for  her  to  see 
you  except  for  the  briefest  moment,  Mr,  Bayley 
would  also  like  to  talk  with  you  about  the  will,  of 
which  he  is  left  sole  executor.  If  I  were  in  your 
place  I  should  not  hasten  unduly,  as  everybody 
knows  you  are  very  far  from  home  and  will  form  no 
unpleasant  conclusions." 

This  was  a  blow  from  which  it  took  some  time  for 
Maybury  to  recover,  even  enough  to  explain  things 
to  Esther.  And  when  he  did  explain  them,  he  very 
soon  got  into  a  worse  State  of  mind  than  at  first. 

The  affection  which  he  bore  Mr.  Scarlett  had  not 
been  a  very  great  one,  and  yet  he  liked  that  gentle- 
man. He  could  not  forget  the  consideration  the 
Senator  had  shown  him  when  he  placed  the  comfort- 
able sum  of  $250,000  to  his  credit.  It  is  always  a 
shock  when  our  friends  are  taken  by  death.  Dr 
Parton's  allusions  to  Flora  were  also  disturbing.  A 
man  may  be  able  to  live  without  his  wife,  and  yet  not 
enjoy  being  told  continually  that  she  is  much  better 
off  when  he  is  at  a  distance.  There  was  nothing  to 


"  AH  !    IT   18    TEEBIBLE  !    TERRIBLE  !"  301 

do  but  to  pack  up  and  start  for  the  North,  and  the 
prospect  was  that  the  next  month  would  be  a  par- 
ticularly disagreeable  one. 

"  Bad  news,  Esther,"  he  told  her,  when  he  had 
spent  an  hour  in  a  vain  attempt  to  compose  his  feel- 
ings. "Senator  Scarlett  is  dead— the  poor  mil- 
lionaire, whose  method  of  acquiring  wealth  you  set 
me  to  investigating  the  first  day  we  met.  I  shall 
have  to  go  to  New  York  without  delay." 

Esther  looked  sympathetic  in  answer  to  the  sad 
face  he  exhibited, 

"  I  did  not  know  he  was  any  relation  to  you,"  she 
said,  simply. 

"  You  surely  knew  that  he  was  my  wife's  father." 

She  had  never  heard  it,  never  in  her  wildest  imag- 
inations dreamed  it.  For  an  instant  she  did  not 
seem  to  breathe. 

"  Your — what  /" 

"Why,  you  don't  tell  me  you  never  heard  !"  said 
Maybury.  "  I  thought  the  whole  world  knew.  Did 
you—did  you— you  didn't  think  I  was — single  /" 

Her  face  was  the  color  of  a  dead  girl's.  Her  mind 
wandered.  Was  this  a  real  conversation  she  was 
having  with  this  man,  or  was  she  the  victim  of  some 
dreadful  delusion  ? 

u  My  dear  child,"  he  said,  divining  the  entire  truth, 
"  let  me  tell  you  everything.  I  supposed  of  course 
you  knew,  and  that  is  why  I  never  alluded  to  it  in 
any  way.  You  see—" 

She  stopped  him  with  a  just  perceptible  gesture. 

"Wait!"  she  articulated,  with  difficulty.  "Wait 
— «  minute  !" 

Plunged  into  despair  he  obeyed,  but  instead  of 
Allowing  him  to  proceed  with  his  explanation  she 


302  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDT. 

arraigned  him  unrelentingly  as  soon  as  she  coula 
speak,  before  the  bar  of  her  womanhood. 

"  Married  !"  she  said,  in  a  hoarse  whisper.  "  And 
here,  with  me  ?  Married  !  Oh  !" 

It  was  a  burst  of  the  most  intense  anguish.  But 
the  tears  did  not  come.  The  pain  was  too  deep  for 
ordinary  means  of  relief. 

"  Why  did  not  God  let  us  die  in  that  cave  at  Gar- 
cia !"  she  cried.  "  You  held  me  to  your  heart  in 
what  I  thought  pure,  honorable  love  !  And  now, 
what  shall  I  call  the  relation  we  hold  to  each  other  ? 
Every  look  you  have  given  me  has  been  untruth  to 
another.  Every  hour  I  have  kept  you  from  her  side, 
has  been  so  much  theft  of  what  was  her  due." 

No,  he  would  not  sit  there  without  telling  her 
what  there  was  in  palliation  of  his  offense.  He  had 
had  no  doubt  that  she  knew  of  his  marriage  to  that 
girl  she  had  seen  with  the  ponies — everybody  knew 
of  it,  how  should  he  have  supposed  it  had  been  kept 
from  her  ?  If  she  had  found  him  wandering  from 
his  wife  she  must  have  known  that  there  were  rea- 
sons. He  certainly  had  traveled  with  Esther  with- 
out doing  anything  that  could  injure  her  present  or 
future  happiness. 

"  No  one  can  say,"  he  added,  "  that  I  have  not  a 
right  to  be  in  Mexico  at  the  same  time  as  you,  or  to 
visit  the  same  places." 

But  she  shook  her  head  despairingly. 

"You  cannot  mitigate  it!"  she  said.  "Ah,  it  is 
terrible  !  terrible  !  What  shall  I  do  !  How  can  I 
bear  it !" 

Affected  beyond  measure  at  her  grief,  Maybury 
drew  his  chair  close  to  hers,  and  took  her  hands  in 
his.  She  did  not  attempt  to  draw  them  away,  but 


"  AH  f   IT   IS   TEBEIBLE  !   TEBBIBUB  !"  302 

allowed  him  to  stroke  them  tenderly,  while  he  tried 
with  all  his  power  to  comfort  her.  She  must  think 
of  herself  as  his  ward,  he  said.  She  should  always 
be  very  dear  to  him,  nothing  should  separate  them. 
It  would  be  necessary  for  him  to  go  North  at  the 
present  time,  and  she  must  go  also.  As  soon  as  he 
could  arrange  to  be  absent  again  he  would  take  her 
to  some  other  part  of  the  world,  where  they  would 
be  as  happy  as  if  she  had  never  heard  of  his  mar- 
riage. 

"  And  will  she — that  wife  of  yours — let  you  go, 
then  ?"  she  asked,  incredulously.  "  Is  she  satisfied 
to  have  you  away  from  her  ;  or  are  you  breaking 
her  heart  as  you  are  mine  ?" 

As  gently  as  possible  he  told  her  that  his  wife  had 
advised  him  to  extend  his  journey  ;  and  that,  in 
summoning  him  now,  she  had  sent  a  message  express- 
ing doubt  whether  she  would  be  able  to  see  him 
more  than  for  a  few  minutes.  It  was  evident  that 
these  things  gave  him  genuine  unhappiness,  but 
Esther  could  not  probe  the  matter  to  the  bottom  yet. 
She  was  sorry  for  him,  however,  and  his  story  softened 
the  resentment  she  had  begun  to  feel,  even  if  it  did 
not  assuage  her  grief. 

During  the  next  hour  he  told  her  much  of  the 
history  of  his  marriage,  that  she  might  the  better 
understand  the  reasons  for  his  conduct.  In  the  course 
of  his  tale  he  happened  to  mention  that  her  brother 
Austin  was  in  Mrs.  Maybury's  service,  and  the  young 
girl  evinced  intense  surprise.  She  made  him  tell 
her  all  about  it,  and  at  the  end  relapsed  for  some 
time  into  a  brown  study,  hardly  hearing  anything 
her  companion  was  saying. 

Bather  had  no  courage  left  to  refuse  when  Doug- 


304  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDT. 

lass  asked  her  to  be  ready  to  start  for  the  United 
States  on  the  following  morning.  The  dilemma  was 
too  great  for  her.  With  him,  she  feared  a  thousand 
evils  ;  without  him,  all  was  chaos.  He  was  her 
almoner,  her  only  friend,  the  one  person  on  earth 
that  she  cared  for.  She  would  have  to  go  with  him. 
There  was  no  escape. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

A  SURPRISED   HUSBAND. 

The  journey  to  New  York  was  uneventful.  Neithar 
of  the  travelers  were  in  a  mood  for  saying  much. 
Arriving  at  the  city  Esther  proceeded  to  the  St. 
Denis  Hotel.  Instead  of  going  directly  to  his  home 
Maybury  was  taken  to  the  office  of  David  Bayley, 
whom  he  was  successful  in  finding  within. 

"Well,  old  man,"  cried  the  Architect,  rising  and 
coming  forward  with  effusion,  "  I  never  was  so  glad 
to  see  any  one  in  my  life  !  You  must  have  had  a 
hard  trip,  to  come  so  far  so  suddenly.  When  did 
you  arrive  ?" 

"  We'll  talk  of  that  some  other  time,"  was  the  con- 
strained reply.  "  Tell  me  about  everything  here. 
The  poor  Senator,  how  did  it  happen  ?  I  cannot 
understand  it  ;  he  always  looked  so  well." 

Nobody  understood  it,  the  Architect  answered.  He 
had  seemed  as  well  the  evening  before  as  a  man  ever 
did,  and  was  found  dead  in  his  bed  the  next  morning. 
Oh,  well,  that  was  getting  to  be  the  fashion.  Long 


A.  SUBPBI8ED   HUSBAND.  306 

sicknesses  were  out  of  date  ;  when  a  man  got  ready 
to  go,  he  never  gave  notice  nowadays.  Great  shock 
to  his  daughter,  naturally.  Mr.  Maybury  had 
noticed  it,  of  course.  What?  He  hadn't  been  up  to 
the  house  yet  ?  No  ?  Bayley  had  heard  yesterday 
that  Mrs.  Maybury  was  unable  to  see  anyone  but  the 
doctor.  Terrible  to  be  so  delicate  !  But,  about  the 
will.  Douglass  must  see  it  and  say  if  there  was 
anything  he  didn't  like.  Had  to  take  the  thing  into 
court,  you  know.  Business  must  be  attended  to, 
even  if  people  did  die.  It  made  more  business,  in 
fact.  Queer,  wasn't  it,  that  Bayley  had  been  made 
executor  ?  Never  had  an  inkling  of  it,  upon  his  soul  ! 
It  would  give  him  enough  to  do  for  the  next  few 
years. 

And  so  he  rattled  on.  And  finally  he  produced 
the  document  in  question,  which  for  a  will  that  dis- 
posed of  twenty  millions  or  more,  was  a  very  brief 
one.  To  Mr.  David  Bayley  it  gave  the  sum  of  $100,- 
ooo,  as  full  payment  for  the  duties  it  confided  to 
him.  To  Douglass  Maybury,  $200,000  ;  his  residence 
to  his  daughter  outright  ;  and  the  rest  to  his  chil- 
dren equally. 

"  This  will  takes  the  place  of  an  older  one," 
explained  the  Architect,  "and  was  made  only  a  few 
weeks  before  the  Senator's  death.  The  addition  of 
the  house  to  Mrs.  Maybury's  part  was  doubtless 
influenced  by  the  fact  that  she  is  likely  to  become  a 
mother." 

The  late  Mr.  Scarlett's  son-in-law  stared  at  the 
speaker. 

"  Any  woman  is  likely  to  be  a  mother,"  he  answered. 

"  You  do  not  pretend  to  be  in  ignorance  of  Mrs. 


306  YOUNG    MISS   GIDDY. 

Maybury's  present  condition  ?"  was  the  Architect's 
reply,  said  with  an  air  of  incredulity. 

Again  Douglass  stared  at  him. 

"What  do  you  mean,  in  plain  English  ?"  he  asked, 
rather  roughly. 

"  I  mean  that  your  wife  is  expecting  a  child  early 
the  coming  summer." 

"You  are  entirely  mistaken,"  was  the  frigid 
answer.  "  Whoever  has  told  that  story  is  a  falsify- 
ing busybody." 

Bayley  leaned  back  in  his  office-chair  and  put  his 
hands  into  his  pockets  as  far  as  they  would  go. 

"  It's  queer  if  Parton  is  mistaken,"  he  said, 
musingly.  "  I  really  thought  he  ought  to  know." 

"  Did  Parton  tell  you  that  ?"  demanded  Douglass, 
flushing  hotly. 

"As  true  as  you  sit  there." 

Maybury  put  his  hand  to  his  forehead  and  tried 
to  think.  Was  the  story  probable  ?  He  could  not 
believe  it. 

"I  am  surprised  at  you,"  said  Bayley.  "You 
know,  of  course,  how  ill  she  has  been,  and  what  a 
time  Parton  has  had  pulling  her  through.  He  has 
certainly  written  to  you,  for  he  asked  me  your 
address.  Why,  it  is  beyond  belief  !" 

Perhaps  it  was  true.  But  if  so  how  doubly  guilty 
he  had  been,  as  a  husband,  to  spend  his  time  in  travel 
with  an  attractive  girl,  enjoying  all  he  could  of  the 
pleasant  things  of  life,  while  his  poor  wife  was 
undergoing  a  physical  and  mental  distress  such  as  a 
man  could  only  conceive  of.  She  had  asked  him  to 
remain  away  from  her,  indeed,  but  he  was  not 
obliged  to  go  three  thousand  miles  off,  and  give  no 
thought  to  her  dangerous  situation — not  even  take 


A   8UEPRI8ED   HUSBAND.  507 

the  pains  to  know  it — never  hear  of  it  until  after 
everybody  else  was  fully  informed.  How  contempt- 
ible it  was,  coming  to  him  in  that  shape  ! 

"  I  will  go  to  her  at  once,"  he  said  to  himself, 
"  and,  if  necessary  to  obtain  her  pardon,  I  will  beg 
it  on  my  knees." 

He  remained  but  a  short  time  longer  at  the  Archi- 
tect's. He  declared  the  will  satisfactory  as  far  as  he 
was  concerned,  though  he  did  not  understand  why 
Mr.  Scarlett  had  remembered  him  so  kindly.  It  was 
an  entire  surprise  and  he  did  not  know  as  he  ought 
to  accept  it. 

"  Nonsense  !"  exclaimed  Bayley,  in  response  to  this 
suggestion.  "  You  are  altogether  too  sensitive.  And 
let  me  tell  you  also,  my  dear  Douglass,  that  a  man 
in  your  situation  ought  to  wear  a  brighter  face  than 
you  carry  around  with  you.  Your  time  for  taking 
this  world  seriously  is  over.  You  have  wealth 
enough  to  satisfy  all  your  tastes.  You  can  travel  or 
stay  at  home,  just  as  it  pleases  you  best.  If  one  set 
of  companions  doesn't  suit,  it  is  in  your  power  to 
select  another.  I  don't  know  as  lucky  a  fellow  in 
the  entire  country,  take  it  altogether.  Why  don't 
you  brace  up  and  act  like  you  used  to,  when  you 
hadn't  ten  thousand  dollars?" 

For  an  instant  Maybury  thought  of  confiding  in 
this  man,  so  wise  in  all  the  affairs  of  life.  He  thought 
of  telling  him  the  condition  of  his  mind  and  throw- 
ing himself  upon  his  generous  mercy.  But  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  it,  and,  remarking  that  he  would 
see  him  again  in  a  day  or  two,  he  left  the  building 
and  took  his  way  on  foot  to  the  elegant  residence  on 
Fifth  avenue. 

Ac  he  was  about  to  ascend  the  marble  steps  a  per- 


3Qg  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

son  came  down  them,  stopped,  hesitated  and  then 
awaited  his  coming.  It  was  Austin  Strange. 

"  I  have  just  returned,"  was  the  brief  statement 
that  Maybury  made.  "  Find  Madame  Saccard  and 
tell  her  I  would  like  to  see  her  at  my  rooms." 

Silent  as  ever,  never  speaking  when  he  could  do 
without  words,  the  young  retainer  bowed  and 
walked  back  into  the  house,  making  way  at  the  door 
for  the  alleged  master  of  the  premises  to  precede 
him.  If  Douglass  had  paid  the  least  attention  to 
his  face  he  would  have  seen  that  all  color  had  left  it 
and  that  there  was  a  twitching  of  the  eyelids  that 
denoted  unusual  excitement.  But  he  noticed  noth- 
ing, being  too  much  preoccupied  with  his  troubles, 
and  with  a  nod  or  two  to  the  servants  he  met  on  his 
way  he  sought  his  own  chambers. 

Things  move  slowly  in  the  residences  of  royalty 
and  of  the  rich.  It  was  more  than  an  hour  before 
Madame  Saccard  was  ready  to  see  him  in  his  par- 
lor. He  rose  to  welcome  the  Frenchwoman,  with 
something  the  air  one  uses  at  funerals. 

Mrs.  Maybury  had  been  apprised  of  the  return  of 
monsieur,  said  Madame  Saccard,  and  regretted  that 
she  was  not  well  enough  to  meet  him  at  once.  Per- 
haps later  in  the  day  she  would  feel  equal  to  the 
effort.  The  lamentable  death  of  her  father — ah  !  Mr. 
Maybury  would  appreciate  her  sentiments. 

"Will  you  tell  me,"  asked  the  husband,  with  a 
directness  that  surprised  himself,  "how  soon  Mrs. 
Maybury  expects  to  be  confined  ?" 

The  daughter  of  Gaul  was  thrown  off  her  guard 
for  a  moment  by  this  pointed  inquiry. 

"To  be  confined  ?"  she  repeated,  uneasily. 


A.   SURPRISED    HUSBAND.  309 

"Yes,  you  understand  the  term,  do  you  not? 
When  is  she  to  become  a  mother?" 

The  five  seconds  in  which  this  form  of  the  query 
had  been  elicited  were  enough  to  decide  the  question 
that  was  in  the  mind  of  Madame  Saccard.  It  was 
evident  that  Monsieur  knew  of  his  wife's  condition, 
and  there  was  no  reason  why  she  should  evade 
answering. 

"  I  cannot  tell  you  with  anything  like  exactness," 
she  said,  acknowledging  with  a  low  bow  that  she 
comprehended  at  last.  "  Dr.  Parton  will  be  here  at 
two  o'clock  and  I  will  tell  him  that  you  wish  an  in- 
terview." 

The  husband  wore  an  anxious  look. 

"  Has  she  suffered  much  ?" 

"  Poor  lady,  yes  !" 

"And  at  present,  is  she  any  worse  than  she  has 
been  ?" 

"  About  the  same,  I  judge.  She  is  up  nearly  every 
day,  and  even  goes  to  ride,  but  her  nerves  are  terri- 
ble." 

"  Tell  the  doctor,"  said  Maybury,  "  that  I  wish  to 
see  him  as  soon  as  he  is  through  with  her  to-day. 
And  please  inform  the  servants  that  I  shall  not  care 
for  lunch.  I  am  exhausted  with  travel  and  wish  to 
get  a  little  sleep." 

Madame  Saccard  indicated  that  these  things  would 
all  be  attended  to,  and  Douglass  was  left  alone.  He 
found  by  consulting  his  watch  that  it  was  nearly 
noon.  Utterly  tired  out  he  threw  off  his  clothes  and 
got  into  his  bed  ;  and  notwithstanding  the  troubles 
that  preyed  upon  him  it  was  not  ten  minutes  before 
he  was  in  the  soundest  kind  of  a  slumber. 

When  Parton  knocked  at  his  door  it  was  past  four 


810  YOCNO  MISS   GIDDY. 

o'clock.  The  physician  had  arrived  at  the  house  a 
little  later  than  usual,  and  his  interview  with  his 
fair  patient  had  been  prolonged  beyond  the  ordinary 
time.  It  required  a  second  and  third  rap  to  bring 
the  sleeper  to  the  door,  and  when  it  was  opened  the 
doctor  found  his  old  friend  in  a  dressing-robe,  rub- 
bing his  eyes  and  yawning. 

Without  permitting  the  least  delay,  absolutely 
refusing  to  discuss  any  other  subject  till  this  one 
was  disposed  of,  Maybury  begged  Parton  to  tell  him 
all  he  could  in  relation  to  the  health  of  Mrs.  May- 
bury.  The  Doctor  expressed  the  greatest  surprise 
to  hear  that  the  husband  had  learned  that  morning 
for  the  first  time  of  the  fact  of  central  importance. 
He  had  supposed,  of  course,  that  he  had  been 
informed  at  the  beginning,  and  had  never  thought 
it  necessary  to  allude  to  it  in  the  letter  he  had  sent. 
Still,  he  could  account  for  the  reticence  of  the  young 
wife,  considering  the  extreme  nervousness  from 
which  she  suffered,  and  the  retiring  disposition  she 
always  showed.  Her  present  condition  was  slightly 
improved  from  what  it  had  been.  There  was  now  a 
strong  hope  that  she  would  be  able  to  pass  the 
ordeal  in  safety  to  herself  and  offspring.  For  months 
the  loss  of  the  latter  had  been  feared.  When  things 
had  been  at  their  worst  the  heroic  lady  had  refused 
to  have  her  husband  informed,  declaring  that  he 
should  not  suffer  on  account  of  something  which  he 
could  neither  prevent  nor  mitigate.  Mrs.  Maybury 
had  been  much  prostrated  by  the  news  of  her 
father's  death,  but  she  had  borne  it  better  than  it 
was  feared  she  would. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  Doctor's  recital  his 


A    SURPKI8E1)    HUSBAND.  311 

auditor  found  it  impossible  to  control  his  feelings. 
Tears  rushed  to  his  eyes  and  flowed  down  his  cheeks. 

"  Why,  this  is  all  wrong  !"  cried  Dr.  Parton,  brisk- 
ly. "  Your  wife  has  passed  through  some  narrow  pas- 
sages, but  the  worst  is  believed  to  be  over.  The 
present  situation  is  one  on  which  we  should  all  con- 
gratulate ourselves.  Mrs.  Maybury  has  requested 
me  to  say  that  she  will  meet  you  to-morrow  morn- 
ing at  ten,  in  her  private  parlor.  All  I  need  add  is 
that  you  must  be  wise  enough  to  make  the  interview 
brief  and  say  nothing  to  unduly  agitate  her." 

Maybury  could  not  talk  to  Parton  of  what  dis- 
turbed him,  not  as  well  even  as  he  could  have  done 
to  Bayley.  He  made  no  attempt,  therefore,  to  ex- 
plain the  cause  of  his  agitation,  but  he  confined  his 
answers  to  questions  relative  to  his  journey  to  the 
very  shortest  compass. 

Warned  again  to  on  no  account  add  to  the  anxiety 
of  his  wife,  Maybury  met  Flora  at  the  appointed 
time  with  as  firm  a  nerve  as  he  could  summon.  She 
was  not  much  paler  than  of  yore,  to  his  relief,  and 
she  assumed  an  air  that  was  almost  cheerful.  He 
could  not  avoid  telling  her  of  the  South  and  of  Mex- 
ico, as  he  had  the  others  who  questioned  him,  and 
she  expressed  the  hope  that  some  day  she  would 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  tropical  land  which 
she  made  him  describe.  Between  his  desire  to  obey 
the  injunctions  of  the  Doctor  and  his  fear  that  if  he 
began  to  entreat  her  pardon  for  his  faults  he  would 
break  down,  he  was  unable  to  say  a  word  upon  the 
subject  on  which  he  most  wanted  to  speak  with  her. 
And  he  left  his  wife  without  in  the  remotest  way 
alluding  to  her  delicate  situation. 

From  the  arrival  of  Maybury  in  New  York,  he  saw 


JJIJ  YOUNG   MISS   GIDDY. 

his  wife  nearly  every  day,  but  never  more  than  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  The  courage  which  had  failed 
him  at  the  outset  did  not  return.  The  things  he 
wished  to  talk  about  never  came  upon  his  lips  in  her 
presence.  He  met  Charles  frequently,  but  he  had 
little  inclination  to  confide  in  the  young  man,  whose 
whole  life  was  now  devoted  to  the  working  people 
upon  whom  he  was  expending  his  entire  share  of 
his  father's  fortune.  The  only  man  that  Douglass 
sought  much  was  Mr.  Bayley,  and  that  gentleman 
refrained  from  all  allusions  that  could  possibly  have 
a  disagreeable  flavor. 

It  was  about  the  middle  of  May  when  the  Archi- 
fect  asked  his  friend  to  accompany  him  to  Van 
Buren,  upon  a  business  matter  connected  with  the 
Scarlett  estate,  of  which  he  was  now  trustee.  Par- 
ton,  being  consulted,  urged  Douglass  to  accept,  and 
Flora  joined  in  the  advice,  saying  he  needed  a 
change,  that  he  was  not  looking  as  well  as  she  could 
wish.  The  physician  assured  the  husband  that  he 
would  notify  him  if  anything  special  occurred  to 
demand  his  presence.  With  this  Douglass  was  fain 
to  be  content.  The  life  he  was  living  was  indeed 
wearing  on  him.  A  few  weeks  of  change  would  do 
him  great  good.  He  told  Bayley  that  he  would  go. 

During  all  this  time  Esther  Strange  had  been  stop- 
ping at  the  St.  Denis,  living  the  life  of  a  recluse  if 
not  of  a  hermit.  Once  a  day  Mr.  Maybury  called 
upon  her,  and  stayed  perhaps  half  an  hour.  The 
girl  always  tried  to  meet  him  as  cheerfully  as  pos- 
sible, but  they  did  not  succeed  in  imparting  much 
joy  to  each  other's  countenances.  Esther  was  as 
strong  in  urging  the  Western  journey  as  the  other* 


A  FREEZING-OUT  PROCESS.  315 

had  been.  It  was  agreed  that  she  would  engage  a 
maid  and  go  to  an  interior  city  during  his  absence. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  be  such  an  expense  to  you,"  said 
Esther,  when  this  arrangement  was  suggested. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake  never  speak  of  that  !"  he 
exclaimed.  "  Draw  all  you  need  from  Mr.  Chitty, 
and  say  nothing.  Be  a  good  girl  now,  till  we  meet 
again." 

He  felt  that  she  would  allow  him  a  good-by  kiss, 
*>ut  he  could  not  give  it.  During  the  weeks  he  had 
been  at  home  he  had  never  kissed  his  wife,  and  he 
could  not  bring  himself  at  this  time  to  offer  that 
salute  to  another. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

A    FREEZING-OUT    PROCESS. 

A  large  part  of  the  State  of  Van  Buren  is  a  wilder- 
ness. There  was  no  better  reason  why  it  should 
have  been  received  into  the  Union  than  that  a  few 
ambitious  politicians  desired  to  enter  Congress  by 
that  door.  The  mines  which  the  late  Senator  had 
left  in  his  executor's  charge  were  in  the  interior,  and 
required  some  days  of  wagon  journey  after  leaving 
the  railroad.  When  they  had  been  thoroughly 
inspected  there  were  other  lands  to  see,  in  which  the 
company's  engineers  believed  quantities  of  silver 
lay  hidden,  and  to  these  points  journeys  were  made 
on  horseback,  A  month  was  consumed  in  this  way 


314  TOUNO   MISS   GIDDY. 

instead  of  the  fortnight  intended,  and  it  was  late  m 
June  when  a  letter  was  brought  to  Maybury  from 
Dr.  Parton,  stating  that  he  was  the  father  of  a  girl. 

Trembling  in  every  limb,  Douglass  handed  this 
missive  to  Bayley  as  soon  as  he  had  read  it. 

"Why  the  devil  did  I  ever  come  out  here  !"  he 
•aid,  dolefully.  "  Of  all  times  in  my  life  this  is  the 
one  I  should  have  been  at  home." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it !"  answered  the  Architect.  "  Par- 
ton  knew  what  he  was  about,  when  he  advised  you 
to  go  away,  and  so  did  your  wife  when  she  seconded 
his  motion.  You  would  have  turned  the  house 
topsy-turvey  at  a  time  when  they  needed  the  utmost 
quiet.  You  would  have  wanted  to  break  into  the 
sick  chamber,  and  when  you  couldn't  do  it  you 
would  have  distracted  the  physician  and  nurses 
asking  for  half-minute  bulletins.  Look  at  the 
postscript  of  this  letter  :  '  Mother  and  child  doing 
well.'  I  should  think  that  wholly  original  expression 
would  answer  all  your  doubts.  We  are  through  here 
now,  and  can  start  home  to-morrow.  In  eight  days 
we  shall  arrive,  and  you  will  thank  your  stars  that 
you  escaped  the  most  disagreeable  strain  that  any 
man  ever  has  on  his  mental  equilibrium." 

Mr.  Maybury  tried  to  see  it  in  this  way,  but  he 
could  not  satisfy  himself  that  he  was  not  a  heartless 
wretch.  On  the  homeward  trip  it  took  all  that  the 
Architect  could  do  to  rally  him.  The  night  he 
arrived  in  New  York  he  fumed  because  the  nurse  in 
charge  refused  to  allow  him  to  enter  the  room  where 
his  wife  lay.  He  took  but  the  most  cursory  inspec- 
tion of  the  infant  they  brought  him,  sound  asleep  in 
its  swaddlings.  He  had  never  abused  this  young 
Jady ;  tkt  was  not  the  person  to  whom  he  owed  an 


A    FREEZING-OUT   PROCESS.  315 

apology.  He  wanted  to  see  Flora  and  tell  her  how 
sorry  he  was  that  he  had  been  away  at  such  an 
unseasonable  time. 

Before  they  would  let  him  see  his  wife  the  next 
morning  Dr.  Parton  had  to  be  summoned.  It  galled 
the  husband  to  find  this  personage  standing  always 
between  him  and  his  other  half,  but  there  was  no 
help  for  it.  He  was  relieved,  however,  after  the 
doctor  had  talked  with  him  a  few  moments,  for  it 
appeared  that  he  held  the  same  view  that  Mr.  Bayley 
had  expressed.  He  declared  it  a  positive  piece  of 
luck  that  the  father  of  the  promising  child  in  the 
other  part  of  the  house  had  not  been  inside  its  por- 
tals two  weeks  earlier. 

"  I  should  not  have  known  what  to  do  with  you," 
laughed  the  physician.  "  You  would  have  been  a 
positive  nuisance." 

"But  supposing  she  had  died!"  replied  Maybury, 
with  a  shiver. 

"  Ah,  but  she  didn't !  '  All's  well  that  ends  well,' 
you  know." 

When  Mrs.  Maybury  received  her  husband,  how- 
ever, it  was  evident  that  she  did  not  take  precisely 
the  physician's  view.  She  inquired,  with  the  first 
touch  of  ascerbity  she  had  ever  shown  in  his  pres- 
ence, why  he  had  remained  away  so  much  longer 
than  he  promised  when  he  took  his  departure.  She 
feared  the  friends  of  the  family  would  draw  unpleas- 
ant Inferences,  and  had  given  orders  that  the  birth  of 
the  child  should  be  concealed  from  outsiders  for  the 
present.  Dr.  Parton,  she  said,  could  be  relied  upon 
to  show  due  discretion. 

All  this  and  much  more  the  young  wife  told  him 
from  her  place  on  the  pillows,  and  the  husband  felt 


31«  TOUNO  MISS  GIDDY. 

a  depression  that  would  have  driven  him,  a  year 
earlier,  into  drunkenness.  The  present  difficulty 
could  not  be  solved  in  that  way.  If  he  was  ever 
going  to  show  himself  a  man,  it  was  high  time  he 
set  about  it. 

To  his  wife  Douglass  became  from  this  time  less 
acceptable,  if  possible,  than  before.  When  she  re- 
covered from  her  illness  she  avoided  him  openly, 
showing  a  desire  to  see  him  as  little  as  possible. 
Dr.  Parton  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  said  there 
was  no  accounting  for  the  whims  of  women.  He 
considered  Mrs.  Maybury  fairly  well  now,  and 
thought  his  services  were  not  likely  to  be  of  much 
further  use.  She  had  formed  notions  after  the  birth 
of  her  child  which  he  could  do  nothing  to  eradicate. 
It  was  a  common  thing  for  women  to  receive  these 
impressions,  and  sometimes  it  took  a  very  long  time 
to  get  them  out  of  their  heads. 

The  summer  was  passed  miserably  enough,  and  in 
the  early  autumn  Maybury  went  to  David  Bayley, 
unveiled  the  entire  affair  to  him,  and  asked  his 
advice. 

"  I  would  a  thousand  times  better  be  single,"  he 
said.  "  My  wife  treats  me  as  distantly  as  if  I  were  a 
stranger  to  whom  she  had  recently  been  introduced. 
I  have  made  explanations  and  apologies,  until  I  can 
do  no  more.  If  this  keeps  up  much  longer  I  shall  be 
driven  crazy." 

Mr.  Bayley  put  on  his  most  thoughtful  look. 

"This  is  not  entirely  new  to  me,"  he  said.  "  I  have 
seen  a  little  of  what  was  going  on,  and  several 
times  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  reason  with  your 
wife  about  her  conduct.  The  intimate  relations 
which  I  held  with  her  father  justified  me  in  that,  I 


A  FBT5EZTWO-OTTT  PROCESS.  317 

think.  Do  you  want  my  explanation  of  the  state  of 
her  mind  ?" 

"  Go  on,"  was  the  earnest  reply. 

"  Well,  it  is  this,  in  a  nutshell.  Mrs.  Maybury  has 
one  of  those  sensitive  organizations  that  are  not 
made  for  marriage.  She  obeyed  her  father's  wishes, 
like  a  dutiful  child.  The  matrimonial  state  is 
associated  in  her  mind  with  nothing  but  suffering. 
In  the  very  shortest  time  possible  she  has  had  to  go 
through  all  the  unpleasant  things  that  women  dread, 
and  she  fears  that  they  might  be  repeated.  You 
are,  in  short,  an  object  of  terror  to  her.  She  dreads 
receiving  you  on  anything  like  the  old  terms.  It  is 
a  sad  case,  but  I  do  not  see  that  it  has  a  remedy. 
Now,  I  would  advise — but  perhaps  you  do  not  want 
my  advice  ?" 

"  I  do.     It  is  exactly  what  I  came  for." 

"  I  would  advise,"  resumed  Bayley,  "  that  you  ac- 
cept the  situation,  make  no  fuss  about  it,  take  a  trip 
abroad,  and  see  if  time  does  not  set  things  right. 
She  will  let  you  go,  I  am  certain,  and  I  am  almost 
equally  sure  that  she  will  send  you  word  to  return 
before  many  months  are  over.  Sometimes  the  best 
thing  to  do  with  a  horse  or  a  woman  is  to  give  them 
their  heads.  While  you  stay  together  nothing  can 
be  done.  She  has  a  great  amount  of  determination 
for  such  a  little  creature.  Tell  her  you  think  of  going 
away,  and  see  what  she  says." 

Maybury  felt  again  how  unpleasant  it  is  to  be  told 
that  one's  wife  would  prefer  his  room  to  his  company. 

"  It  is  damnable  !"  he  ventured  to  remark. 

"  Of  course,"  smiled  the  Architect.  "  Everything 
about  marriage  is  damnable.  I  only  recommended 
it  to  you  as  a  financial  investment,  and  so  far  as  that 


|]g  TOTING   MISS   GIDDY. 

is  concerned,  you  will  admit  that  it  has  turned  out 
well.  I've  told  you  what  to  do.  Now  you  must  be 
your  own  judge." 

Before  Maybury  would  act  on  this  suggestion  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  try  every  thing  else  he  could 
think  of.  The  only  result  was  that  Flora  grew  more 
and  more  reserved  toward  him  as  the  weeks  passed 
away.  She  saw  him  at  first  at  dinner — the  bells 
which  connected  his  apartments  with  hers  were  rung 
In  vain.  She  was  well  enough  ;  in  fact  she  had  a 
new  color  that  made  her  much  handsomer  than  ever 
before.  But  none  of  it  was  for  him. 

At  last  she  declined  to  see  him  at  all,  taking  her 
meals  in  her  own  apartments.  Dr.  Parton,  who  was 
begged  to  ascertain  the  reason  of  this  conduct, 
reported  that  he  was  unable  to  fathom  it.  He  said, 
as  Bayley  did,  that  the  best  thing  he  could  think 
of  to  bring  her  around  was  a  trip  to  some  distant 
point.  She  would  undoubtedly  recover  her  natural 
demeanor,  if  left  alone. 

During  this  time  Mr.  Maybury  saw  very  little  of 
Esther  Strange.  He  visited  her  not  oftener  than 
once  a  fortnight  and  wrote  to  her  on  the  alternate 
weeks  very  brief,  though  kind,  letters.  As  long  as 
he  had  hope  of  patching  up  an  armistice  with  his 
wife  he  felt  a  delicacy  about  being  much  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  other  girl.  Finally,  however,  he  con- 
cluded to  do  as  he  had  been  advised.  He  was  very 
tired  of  living  in  a  house  of  which  he  was  not  mas- 
ter, on  the  opposite  side  from  a  woman  who  refused 
to  act  the  part  of  a  wife. 

The  note  that  he  sent  in  to  Flora,  telling  her  of  his 
intention,  was  written  in  the  most  courteous  manner. 
It  said  she  had  only  to  speak  the  word,  and  he  would 


JL  FKEEZING-OUT   PBOCBSi.  319 

remain  with  her  ;  otherwise  he  must  oelieve  she 
desired  him  to  cease  acting  the  r61e  of  a  husband 
entirely.  The  answer  she  sent  him  was  very  brief, 
and  informed  him  in  effect  that  she  quite  approved 
of  his  journey  and  trusted  it  would  be  a  benefit  to 
him.  As  for  herself,  her  child  now  required  all  her 
attention.  She  ended  the  note  by  wishing  him  hap- 
piness, and  asking  that  he  write — occasionally. 

Nothing  could  have  been  colder  or  more  formal. 
The  wife  had  not  even  expressed  a  wish  to  bid  him 
good-bye  in  person.  Nearly  distracted  by  the  situa- 
tion, which  he  could  not  in  the  least  explain,  Maybury 
packed  his  things  and  sent  for  Esther.  He  could 
not  bear  to  set  out  on  his  travels  without  one  heart 
in  which  he  could  find  sympathy.  And  to  his  delight 
the  girl  responded  instantly,  in  person,  ready  to  go 
wherever  he  went. 

Their  path  was  in  a  southerly  direction,  wending 
as  the  weather  grew  cooler  back  to  that  Mexico 
which  both  had  learned  to  like  so  well,  and  from 
which  they  had  parted  so  suddenly.  They  stopped 
at  Celaya,  for  opals,  at  Puebla,  Vera  Cruz,  Aguas 
Calientes,  Guadalajara,  and  a  dozen  other  places  of 
interest,  and  when  the  new  year  opened  were  again 
in  the  Federal  District.  So  little  thought  had  they 
of  danger  or  detection  that  they  went  about  with 
perfect  freedom  in  each  other's  company. 

On  Sunday  mornings  they  visited  the  gigantic  and 
most  beautiful  cathedral,  where  once  they  saw  at 
least  a  hundred  little  Mexican  mothers,  not  one  of 
them  over  five  feet  in  height,  offering  their  tiny 
babies  for  the  archbishop  to  christen  ;  in  the  after- 
noon they  drove  on  the  Pasao  amid  the  most  pict- 
uresque concourse  of  riders  and  equipages  to  be 


320  TOUNO  1088  GIDDT. 

seen  on  the  American  continent  ;  at  night  they  at- 
tended the  circus.  On  other  days  they  visited  the 
Museum,  inspecting  the  ancient  relics,  and  marvel- 
ing at  the  paintings,  so  much  finer  than  they  had 
expected  to  see  in  this  mediaeval  country.  The  city 
was  filled  with  parks  and  plazas,  fountains  and 
statues.  They  also  drove  out  to  Tacubaya,  to  the 
church  of  Guadaloupe,  the  fortress  of  Chapultepec 
and  every  other  place  of  interest  within  many  miles. 

In  these  months  Maybury  almost  renewed  the 
youth  he  had  been  on  the  point  of  losing.  He  could 
not  forget  all  that  had  made  him  unhappy,  but 
the  sweet  companionship  of  Esther  soothed  the 
wounds  he  had  received.  The  young  girl  confided 
in  him  implicitly  now,  as  the  only  friend  on  whom 
she  could  rely.  They  were  like  two  Arcadians, 
walking  hand-in-hand  through  the  world,  prefer- 
ring the  dreams  they  loved  to  the  reality  to  which 
waking  must  bring  them. 

Among  the  resorts  which  they  both  liked  best  was 
the  Viga  Canal,  that  semi-Venetian  and  artificial 
stream  that  runs  from  a  point  in  the  outskirts  of  the 
City  of  Mexico  a  long  distance  into  the  country. 
They  were  frequently  in  the  habit  of  hiring  a  boat 
and  going  to  the  Chimpafias,  or  floating  gardens, 
and  sometimes  much  farther.  Partially  concealed 
by  the  awning,  they  would  lie  at  ease,  in  the  bottom 
of  their  frail  craft,  enjoying  the  slow  ride  past  the 
strangest  villages  and  the  queerest  people  ;  meeting 
market  boats  loaded  with  vegetables  and  many 
pleasure  craft  filled  with  happy  singers  and  mandolin 
players,  making  the  most  delightful  music.  Nowhere, 
except  it  be  in  Japan,  are  the  natives  so  childlike. 
Often.  u>  amuse  himself,  Douglass  would  call  out. 


"ARBEST  THIS  MAN!"  321 

"  Buenos  tardes  !"  to  some  boat-load  of  people,  and 
the  response,  given  with  the  utmost  politeness, 
always  came  quickly. 

February  arrived,  and  still  the  travelers  had  no 
thought  of  leaving  these  delightful  scenes.  But, 
one  evening,  as  they  were  floating  at  a  snail's  pace 
back  to  the  city,  on  the  bosom  of  this  strange  canal, 
another  pleasure-boat  passed  them,  covered  like 
theirs  with  a  canopy  of  cloth.  The  voice  of  one  of 
its  occupants  could  be  distinctly  heard  from  beneath 
the  canvas,  and  Maybury  turned  toward  Esther  with 
startled  eyes. 

"  It  is  she  J"  he.  whispered,  in  the  greatest  agita- 
tion. "It  is  my  wife!  What  can  she  be  doing 
here  ?" 

"  Hush,"  replied  the  girl,  in  an  equally  low  tone. 
"  She  cannot  see  us  under  this  covering.  Keep  per- 
fectly quiet." 

Just  then  a  peal  of  musical  laughter  came  to  the 
ears  of  the  listeners  from  the  occupants  of  the  other 
boat. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
"ARREST   THIS    MAN!" 

Unable  to  resist  the  temptation,  Douglass  May- 
bury  peered  beneath  the  awnings.  When  he  raised 
his  gaze  again  to  Esther  he  wore  an  expression  that 
frightened  her  to  the  utmost.  There  was  a  horrible 
twitching  of  the  muscles,  and  both  his  eyes  wer» 
filled  with  little  flakes  of  red. 


3J3  TOTJNO   MISS   GIDDY. 

This  is  what  he  had  seen.  His  wife  sat  low  in  her 
boat  with  one  of  her  arms  about  the  neck  of  Austin 
Strange,  whose  head  lay  against  her  bosom.  With  her 
disengaged  hand  she  was  stroking  the  hair  of  the  car- 
penter. At  the  very  moment  when  the  husband  beheld 
them  she  was  imprinting  the  warmest  of  kisses  upon 
his  cheek  !  Near  by,  apparently  not  at  all  surprised 
at  the  tableau,  the  French  maid,  Margot,  sat  smiling 
upon  the  pair. 

Obeying  his  first  impulse  Douglass  drew  Esther 
down  where  she  could  be  a  witness  of  this  astonish- 
ing scene.  Otherwise  he  did  not  move.  His  suffer- 
ings were  so  acute,  and  his  head  was  in  such  a  whirl, 
that  he  could  not  think  of  any  plan  of  action. 

"There  is  no  one  near  us  who  speaks  anything 
but  Spanish,  you  silly  girl,"  Mrs.  Maybury  was 
saying  in  French  to  the  maid.  "  We  can  use  any 
other  language  without  the  least  fear  of  discovery." 

This  was  evidently  said  in  reply  to  a  remark 
which  had  called  forth  the  laugh  that  attracted  May- 
bury's  attention. 

"But  you  know  Monsieur  is  somewhere  in  Mex- 
ico," protested  the  more  careful  Margot.  "  And  it 
would  not  be  nice  to  have  him  get  word  of  this." 

"  He  is  still  at  Toluca,"  replied  Flora,  smiling.  r 
"  But  even  if  he  were  here,  and  could  see  and  hear 
me,  I  don't  know  as  I  should  care  very  much.  I  am 
tired  of  him.  If  he  should  say  a  word  I  would  ask 
him  where  he  had  left  his  own  belle-amie.  The 
farce  of  pretending  to  be  an  obedient  wife  is  ended." 

Maybury's  hand  on  Esther's  arm  tightened.  She 
could  only  imperfectly  understand  what  had  been 
taid,  as  her  education  in  French  was  more  theoretical 


"AEREST  THIS  MAJT!V  383 

than  practical,  but  her  fears  threw  her  into  a  state 
of  intense  excitement. 

"  What  are  you  talking  about  ?"  came  gruffly  from 
the  lips  of  young  Strange.  "  It  is  just  as  well  to 
speak  English." 

"  Forgive  me,"  said  Flora,  in  a  most  caressing 
tone.  "  We  were  speaking  of  Mr.  Maybury,  and  I 
was  remarking  that  if  we  should  ever  meet  I  should 
have  very  little  to  say  to  him.  If  he  will  keep  away 
another  year  I  can  get  a  divorce  for  desertion.  And 
then,  my  darling,  I  shall  be  yours  forever  !" 

The  husband  uttered  a  groan,  so  low  that  no  one 
but  Esther  heard  it,  but  filled  with  such  pain  that  it 
thrilled  her  with  horror.  The  boats  floated  within 
thirty  feet  of  each  other,  and  the  boatmen,  old 
acquaintances,  were  talking  familiarly  in  the  mixed 
native  and  Spanish  dialect. 

"You  know  well,  Austin,"  said  the  wife,  after  a 
moment's  pause,  "  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  affec- 
tion I  bore  my  father,  I  could  never  have  endured  all 
that  misery  !  How  dreadful  to  marry  a  man  I  did 
not  love  when  my  whole  heart  was  yours  !  Except 
for  our  child  I  would  have  refused  as  long  as  I  lived, 
but  that  left  no  alternative.  What  do  you  think  Mr. 
Maybury  would  say  if  he  knew  whose  baby  it  was, 
and  that  it  was  born  two  months  earlier  than  he  be- 
lieves ?" 

Esther  wound  her  arms  around  Douglass,  holding 
him  down.  He  had  feebly  struggled  to  rise  to  his 
feet.  One  of  her  hands  was  placed  upon  his  mouth. 
She  felt  that  something  dreadful  must  happen  soon. 
He  breathed  like  a  man  in  extremis. 

"  It  is  really  amusing,"  continued  Flora,  and 
again  her  musical  laugh  rang  out  on  the  languorous 


324  YOUNG  MISS  GIDDY. 

«ir.  "  It  is  too  awfully  funny  to  think  of  all  the 
pains  I  had  to  take  to  deceive  him,  getting  that 
dunce  of  a  Parton  to  help  me  out,  and  bringing  all 
my  wits  to  bear  to  deceive  Mr.  Bayley,  who,  I  more 
than  half  believe,  suspects  everything.  Mr.  May- 
bury  only  glanced  at  the  child,  but  he  wouldn't  have 
known  if  it  had  been  a  year  old  instead  of  the  fort- 
night he  thought.  And  when  I  looked  at  him  in 
such  an  injured  way,  as  if  my  heart  was  broken  at 
his  long  neglect,  the  tears  came  into  his  poor  eyes  ! 
Oh,  I  thought  surely  I  should  die  of  laughing  when 
he  had  gone  from  the  room  and  you  and  Saccard 
and  Margot  came  back  !  And  every  day  Parton 
would  come  in  with  such  stories  of  his  dejection, 
and  his  anxiety  for  my  health  I" 

The  French  maid  interposed  once  more. 

"Really,  madame,"  she  protested,  "you  forget 
how  loud  you  are  speaking." 

"Give  your  advice  when  it  is  asked,  Margot,"  was 
the  short  reply  of  her  mistress.  "  Do  you  think 
these  market  people  or  these  boatmen  understand 
me  ?  I  am  as  free  here  as  any  bird,  not  only  to  do 
as  I  please,  but  to  utter  my  closest  thoughts. 
Austin,"  she  added,  bending  lovingly  over  her  com- 
panion, **  of  what  are  you  thinking?  Are  you  not 
glad  to  be  with  me  where  no  one  can  question  us  ? 
Does  it  make  you  happy  not  to  pretend  to  be  my 
servant  in  the  presence  of  so  many  people,  when  you 
know  I  would  lie  in  the  dust  for  your  feet  to  walk 
on  me  ?" 

The  young  carpenter  made  a  half-audible  response, 
which  seemed  to  satisfy  her,  for  she  bent  over  him 
again  and  kissed  him  upon  the  mouth. 

"  Ah,  ray  God  !"  exclaimed  the  wife,  "I  never  kiss 


"  ABEEBT  THI8  MAN  !"  825 

you  but  I  think  of  that  terrible  week  after  my  mar- 
riage, when  I  had  to  endure  my  husband's  caresses. 
I  had  wept  myself  wild  at  the  thought  that  it  would 
have  to  be,  for  the  six  weeks  that  preceded  the  cere 
mony,  but  I  was  no  more  prepared  than  ever.  You 
know  how  I  risked  so  much  to  come  back  to  you 
the  evening  I  was  married.  I  would  have  endured 
exposure,  my  father's  anger,  anything,  rather  than 
not  have  sought  you  out,  after  you  left  that  parlor, 
so  wan  and  white  !  Do  I  not  deserve  to  be  happy 
with  you,  if  only  for  the  terrible  sacrifice  I  made  in 
resigning  myself  to  his  arms,  to  save  your  child 
from  disgrace  ?  And  it  troubles  me,  too,  my  dar- 
ling, that  when  Gwendolin  grows  to  be  a  woman  she 
never  can  know  who  is  her  real  father.  She  will 
bear  a  name  that  her  mother  has  learned  to  hate  !" 

Under  the  hands  that  clung  to  Mr.  Maybury 
Esther  could  feel  the  hot  flesh,  burning  as  with  a. 
fever.  The  girl  could  only  hope  that  the  boats 
would  ultimately  drift  apart,  and  put  an  end  to  the 
awful  strain  on  the  listener  most  interested.  She 
recognized  the  face  and  voice  of  her  brother,  and 
knew  that  it  was  he  who  had  been  the  partner  in 
sin  of  the  young  wife.  But  the  boats  clung  as 
closely  together  as  if  they  were  sentient  beings, 
gifted  with  a  knowledge  of  what  was  transpiring 
upon  their  decks  and  feeling  a  malignant  joy  at  the 
impending  crisis. 

Austin  Strange  only  replied  to  the  rhapsodies  of 
his  companion  by  a  monosyllable.  He  seemed  much 
more  engaged  in  watching  the  scenes  along  the  bank 
of  the  canal  than  in  listening  to  her  words.  The 
more  thickly  settled  sections  of  the  city  were  loom- 
ing up  before  them.  It  would  not  be  long  now 


3£6  TOUHO   MISi  OIDDT. 

ere  they  would  be  at  the  Iturbide  Hotel,  where  a 
good  dinner  undoubtedly  awaited  their  coming. 

"What  a  life  I  led  all  through  my  childhood!" 
Flora  exclaimed,  seeing  nothing  but  the  countenance 
of  him  she  loved.  "  Everything  that  money  could 
buy  was  lavished  on  me,  but  I  never  was  content. 
That  day  I  saw  you  first,  working  at  your  bench,  I 
knew  an  end  must  come  of  all  my  ennui.  Madame 
Saccard  and  Margot  made  it  so  easy  for  me  to 
seek  you.  They  both  knew  what  it  was  to  have  a 
lover,  and  that  the  possession  of  wealth  made  no 
change  in  the  heart  of  a  girl.  You  remember,  Mar- 
got,"  she  said,  speaking  to  the  maid,  "  how  you 
searched  for  him  and  made  him  meet  me,  pretending 
that  he  might  lose  his  situation — ha!  ha! — unless 
he  did.  And  after  that  he  came  to  our  house  on 
Fifty-second  street  every  evening,  to  show  me  the 
carving  he  was  doing,  taking  his  pay  for  extra  time 
and  never  seeming  to  understand  !  How  it  ever 
came  about  I  do  not  know,  for  you  were  the  slowest 
darling  that  ever  lived,"  she  continued,  addressing 
herself  again  to  Austin.  "  At  last,  however,  you  saw 
that  it  was  you,  and  not  the  stupid  wood,  that  I 
wanted.  From  that  hour  I  was  in  Elysium  !  I  could 
not  wait  till  evening  for  you,  but  used  to  go  and 
stand  where  1  could  see  you,  happy  to  be  in  the  same 
house,  under  the  same  roof  !" 

Crossing  the  Viga  Canal  are  numerous  bridges, 
built  low  like  those  at  Venice.  Whenever  a  boat  has 
to  go  beneath  one  of  these  arches,  the  boatman 
utters  a  cry  of  warning,  and  lowers  by  a  small  lever 
the  canopy  that  hangs  above  the  passengers.  At 
this  moment  a  bridge  was  encountered  and  the  can- 
vas drooped  over  Mrs.  Maybury  and  her  compan- 


"  ABMST  THIS  MA»  T  327 

ions,  shutting  them  temporarily  out  of  sight.  She 
seized  the  opportunity  to  press  her  lips  once  more  to 
those  of  her  lover,  as  if  she  could  not  bear  that  any 
of  the  honey  upon  them  should  escape  her.  And 
when  her  husband,  whose  boat-covering  fell  also  & 
second  later,  found  it  raised  into  its  usual  place,  this 
was  the  sight  that  met  his  dazed  and  outraged 
eyes. 

Esther  Strange  held  to  Douglass  with  the  strength 
of  desperation.  She  still  hoped  that  something 
would  happen  to  separate  the  boats  from  each  other. 
She  believed  that  if  they  once  got  far  enough  apart 
to  enable  her  to  talk  with  him  unheard,  she  could 
persuade  him  to  leave  Mexico  without  seeking  an 
interview  with  this  dreadful  woman  who  had  so  dis- 
honored him.  Maybury's  head  was  ready  to  burst. 
His  throat  was  parched.  His  skin  was  aflame.  His 
pulses  were  uneven.  He  lay  in  the  bottom  of  that 
boat,  suffering  as  if  it  were  made  of  red-hot  iron,  but 
not  ready  yet  to  move. 

*'  It  was  so  long,  so  very  long,"  said  Flora,  when 
the  bridge  was  passed,  "  before  I  could  find  a  way  to 
have  you  wholly  to  myself  !  I  had  to  pretend  a 
great  deal  more  illness  than  I  felt,  though  the  con- 
stant worry  about  you  made  me  pale  enough.  It 
was  not  papa  alone  who  had  to  be  won  over  to  the 
idea  that  I  needed  you  to  help  me  in  my  travels. 
He  was  ready  to  indorse  anything  his  Architect 
favored.  Fortune  was  on  my  side  and  at  last  Mr. 
Bayley  secured  you  for  me.  That  made  everything 
easy.  I  did  not  have  to  wait  till  evening  for  you  to 
come,  dragging  the  long,  dull  days  in  restlessness. 
I  did  not  have  to  dread  the  clock  striking  tea  at 


3£8  YOUNG  MISS  GEDDT. 

night,  knowing  that  you  would  consider  it  a  signal 
to  start  for  your  own  home.  You  were  mine,  then, 
all  mine!  Madame  Saccard,  and  Margot,  and  Dr. 
Parton  were  in  my  secret — and  nobody  else  knew  or 
needed  to  know." 

Austin  rose  abruptly  and  signalled  to  his  boatman 
to  remove  altogether  the  awning  that  had  hidden  the 
voyagers.  They  were  now  so  near  the  end  of  their 
trip  that  he  wanted  to  begin  preparations  for  land- 
ing. The  delay  in  rowing  made  by  this  caused  the 
second  boat,  containing  Maybury  and  Esther,  to  pass 
slightly  ahead.  Douglass  could  now  see  the  entire 
group,  and  he  noticed  above  all  that  his  wife  wore 
the  brightest  smile  he  had  ever  seen  upon  her  face. 

"  There  have  been  so  many  queer  things,"  said 
Flora,  and  her  voice  came  clearly  to  him  over  the 
water.  "You  remember,  dear,  when  we  found  Mr. 
Maybury  in  that  can-can  hall  in  New  Orleans,  and  I 
drank  wine  with  him  without  his  ever  suspecting  my 
identity.  I  was  half  inclined  to  like  him  when  I  saw 
his  flaming  eyes  watching  the  wild  dance  I  gave,  but 
my  heart  was  already  won.  I  wonder  who  that  little 
silly  creature  was  who  accompanied  us  to  the  wine- 
room,  and  was  mortally  afraid  she  would  see  my 
stockings.  And  what  a  fright  I  had,  do  you  remem- 
ber, when  I  lost  the  mate  to  this  article."  (She 
paused  long  enough  to  show  it  to  him.)  "And  all 
the  time  poor  Douglass  thought  me  an  angel  and  a 
saint !" 

Rippling  out  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Canal  came 
again  the  laughter  of  the  young  wife,  at  this  pleasing 
reminiscence.  Austin,  paying  little  if  any  attention 
to  her,  stood  up  in  the  boat,  looking  at  a  more  inter- 
esting spectacle.  With  the  fearlessness  of  onlookers 


«*ARBBST  THIS  MAWP  329 

that  characterizes  the  natives  of  Mexico,  half-a-dozen 
young  women  were  bathing  in  perfect  nudity  a  hun- 
dred feet  away. 

"We  are  almost  there,"  said,  the  young  man,  at 
last,  in  a  remarkable  burst  of  loquacity. 

Esther  could  restrain  Mr.  Maybury  no  longer. 
One  of  his  hands  had  found  its  way  to  a  rear  pocket, 
and  when  it  emerged  it  held  a  revolver  tightly 
grasped  within  it. 

"  1  beg  you  to  think  !"  she  whispered,  in  agony. 
41  He  is  my  brother  !" 

If  he  heard  her  he  did  not  reply.  His  boatman 
came  at  that  moment  to  take  away  the  awning  that 
hid  them,  and  Maybury  did  nothing  to  prevent  him. 
The  stopping  of  the  paddle  allowed  the  other  boat 
to  pass  this  one.  When  Douglass  threw  off  the 
clinging  girl  with  brute  force  he  faced  the  lover  of 
his  wife,  who  was  standing  with  folded  arms,  his 
back  toward  the  prow  of  his  craft. 

"  Austin  !  It  is  Mr.  Maybury  !  He  will  kill  you  !" 
screamed  Esther. 

Flora  Maybury  was  upon  her  feet  before  these 
sentences  were  ended.  Seeing  the  situation,  she 
threw  both  her  arms  with  a  protecting  motion  around 
the  body  of  her  lover. 

"  So  that  is  the  girl  for  whom  you  left  me  ?" 
she  cried.  "  I  think  we  may  call  it  quits  !" 

It  was  a  most  peculiar  tableau.  The  wife's 
embrace  was  about  her  lover,  while  that  lover's 
sister  held  the  husband  as  tightly  as  she  could, 
hoping  to  avert  the  aim  which  she  had  good  reason 
to  fear  would  be  deadly. 

Austin  was  the  picture  of  determination.  What- 
ever else  showed  in  his  bronzed  countenance  there 


360  YOtnrd  MIW  tmwr. 

was, nothing  there  of  the  coward.  He  tried  unsuc- 
cessfully to  unclasp  Flora's  arms  from  his  body. 
The  boats  were  too  far  apart  to  permit  him  to  attack 
his  enemy  with  natural  weapons,  the  only  ones  he 
had  with  him,  but  he  wanted  to  be  free  to  act  in  an 
emergency.  He  saw  the  revolver,  but  he  did  not 
flinch.  He  waited,  like  some  superb  animal,  for  an 
opportunity  to  spring. 

Both  the  boatmen,  when  they  saw  what  was  going 
on,  began  to  paddle  frantically  toward  their  destina- 
tion. Perhaps  it  struck  them  that  the  nearer  the 
police  they  could  get  the  better.  At  any  rate  the 
boats  flew  through  the  water  at  astonishing  speed. 
Wrenching  his  arm  partly  from  Esther's  control, 
Maybury  fired  point-blank  at  her  brother,  but  with- 
out hitting  him.  Subsequent  shots,  thrown  out  of 
their  course  by  the  struggle  he  was  constantly  hav- 
ing with  the  girl,  made  no  more  impression. 

"Would  you  be  a  murderer,  too  ?"  came  the  shrill 
voice  of  Mrs.  Maybury.  "  You,  who  have  given  him 
the  greater  cause  ?  Assassin,  you  are  firing  at  an 
unarmed  man  !" 

The  boats  were  being  separated  every  moment. 
Austin  Strange's  boatman  was  more  athletic  than 
the  other,  and  at  each  sweep  of  his  paddle  he  was 
increasing  the  distance  between  the  antagonists. 
With  the  strength  of  desperation  Esther  clung  to 
her  companion,  though  he  made  every  effort  to  be 
free  of  her.  Five  shots,  thanks  to  her  intervention, 
had  passed  harmlessly  into  the  air.  As  Maybury  was 
about  to  take  the  sixth  one  an  agency  that  had  not 
been  taken  into  account  made  his  work  superfluous. 
Austin  suddenly  fell  forward,  as  if  struck  by  a  club. 


TKM  MJJT  F*  331 

And  Flora,  clinging  to  him,  was  thrown  to  the 
bottom  of  the  boat  by  the  force  of  his  fall. 

Esther  dragged  Maybury  to  his  knees  by  the 
desperate  exercise  of  her  full  strength.  A  collision 
was  now  inevitable. 

It  was  one  of  the  low  bridges  that  had  done  the 
deed.  With  his  back  to  it,  too  much  occupied  to 
heed  the  cry  of  the  boatman,  Austin  Strange  had 
received  the  full  force  of  the  masonry  against  his 
head. 

The  boats  touched.  Springing  furiously  upon 
the  other  craft,  Maybury  raised  his  empty  pistol.  He 
was  about  to  strike  the  recumbent  figure  when  the 
French  maid  stopped  him  with  a  scream. 

"Monsieur!  He  is  dead  already!"  she  cried 
"And,  madame — oh  !  I  fear  it  has  killed  her,  too  !" 

The  shock  of  what  he  heard — especially  the  closing 
words,  had  such  an  effect  upon  the  husband  that  he 
let  his  weapon  fall  into  the  Canal,  where  it  soon 
sought  the  slimy  bottom.  Bending  over  his  wife, 
with  a  tenderness  hardly  lessened  by  the  revelations 
of  the  last  quarter  hour,  he  saw  her  open  her  eyes 
slowly. 

"  Have  you  killed  him  ?"  she  asked,  hoarsely.  "If 
you  have,  you  shall  pay — life  for  life  !" 

Esther  and  Margot  dragged  the  heavy  form  of  the 
carpenter  from  that  of  Mrs.  Maybury,  with  difficulty. 
Douglass  would  not  assist  them,  and  the  boatmen 
stood  as  if  paralyzed  with  fright. 

It  was  no  time  for  words.  The  French  maid, 
afraid  of  nothing,  tore  open  the  vest  of  the  prostrate 
figure  and  listened  at  the  chest.  There  was  not  the 
faintest  flutter  of  the  heart.  Flora  saw  the  hopeless 
look  with  which  the  girl  made  the  discovery,  and 


838  TOUTO  was  amor. 

with  a  wild  cry  of  anguish  threw  herself  on  the  dood 

form. 

"Austin,  Austin  !"  she  cried.  *  Do  not  let  them 
tell  me  that  you  are  dead  !  Lfoe,  for  the  sake  of  our 
little  child ;  for  the  sake  of  our  love  so  deep  and 
strong  !  Zfve,  that  we  may  defy  those  that  hate  us 
and  make  our  lives  one  long  holiday  of  joy  !"  Then 
she  fell  into  a  paroxysm  of  tears.  "  He  does  not 
speak  !  He  will  never  speak  to  me  again  !"  she 
screamed. 

"  But  you!"  She  rose  and  gazed  with  intense  loath- 
ing into  the  eyes  of  her  husband.  "  You  had  better 
have  died  at  your  birth  than  to  have  seen  this  day  1" 

Maybury  drew  back  from  the  enraged  woman,  and 
pressed  his  hand  to  his  side.  Turning  from  him  she 
scanned  the  shore  with  her  keen  gaze  and  saw — to 
her  delight— an  officer  of  police,  cantering  along  the 
roadway. 

"  Here  !"  she  cried,  in  her  loudest  key.  "  This  man 
has  committed  a  murder !  Arrest  him  !  I  charge 
him  with  this  deed  !" 


CHAPTER  XXXIIt 

WHAT   BAYLEY   TOLD   PARTOK. 

Six  months  later  two  men  were  conversing  earn- 
estly in  a  New  York  club-house  over  their  "  walnuts 
and  wine."  They  were  David  Bayley  and  Dr.  Parton 

"  Then  everything  is  satisfactory,  is  it  ?"  said  the 
Architect.  "  Your  bill  is  receipted  in  full  and  you 
start  for  Europe  to-morrow  ?" 


WHAT  BAYLEY  TOLD  PABTOH.        333 

"  Precisely.  Mrs.  Maybury  has  been  more  than 
liberal.  I  shall  not  need  to  practice  medicine  for 
years,  unless  I  choose.  And  now  I  want  you  to  tell 
me  about  that  Mexican  trip  of  yours,  of  which  I 
hax  •»  only  had  as  yet  an  inkling.  Begin  at  the 
beg  Jning,  and  let  me  have  the  entire  story." 

kr.  Bayley  thought  a  moment,  before  replying. 
Then  he  said  that  he  saw  no  objection  to  humoring 
his  companion. 

"  Tt  was  about  the  last  of  February,"  he  began, 
"  that  I  got  word  of  the  trouble,  and  went  immedi- 
ately to  the  City  of  Mexico.  Mrs.  Maybury  seemed  to 
think,  because  I  was  to  execute  her  father's  will,  that 
I  ought  to  help  to  execute  her  husband  also.  She 
told  me  he  was  in  jail,  awaiting  trial,  and  that  she 
would  never  rest  until  he  had  been  punished  for  his 
brutal  and  cold-blooded  murder  of  her  'servant.' 
Although  I  believed  at  first  that  she  had  given  the 
true  version  of  young  Strange's  death — that  May- 
bury  had  struck  him  with  a  blunt  instrument — it 
wasn't  my  notion  that  he  would  look  any  better 
after  those  Mexicans  had  emptied  a  lot  of  cold  lead 
into  him.  How  to  satisfy  her,  and  at  the  same  time 
save  my  old  friend,  was  the  puzzle  I  had  to  set  about 
unraveling. 

"  The  local  agent  of  one  of  the  great  railways  was 
known  to  me,  the  Senator  having  been  quite  a  large 
shareholder  in  the  company.  Through  him  I  learned 
that  there  was  no  other  key  so  effective  in  that  coun- 
try as  a  golden  one.  Instead  of  asking  the  authorities 
for  permission  to  visit  the  prisoner  I  quietly  took  a 
guide  and  bribed  the  men  in  charge  of  the  prison  to 
let  me  in.  Maybury  was  as  comfortable  in  his  situ- 
ation as  could  be  expected.  He  had  been  able  to 


334  YOWG   MIS8  GIDDY. 

buy  good  food  and  plenty  of  bedding.  \h  for  the 
rest  he  didn't  seem  to  care.  He  was  the  most  down- 
hearted man  I  ever  saw.  All  he  could  think  of  was 
the  dreadful  death  of  young  Strange,  which  had 
affected  him  tremendously.  And  in  the  desultory 
talk  that  he  made  I  got  my  first  information  of  the 
fact  that  the  fellow  had  whacked  his  head  against 
a  bridge  and  that  Maybury  had  nothing  at  all  to  do 
with  his  taking  off. 

"  I  asked  him  if  he  was  doing  anything  toward  a 
defense,  and  he  said  he  was  not.  He  didn't  exactly 
want  to  die,  but  he  wasn't  doing  a  thing  tc  save  him- 
self. Although  he  hadn't  laid  his  hand  on  Strange,  he 
felt  that  the  young  man  had  died  from  his  fault — - 
that  he  would  have  been  alive  now  if  it  hadn't  been 
for  him.  He  said  to  me,  over  and  over,  that  he  had 
tried  his  best  to  kill  him — firing  every  shot  in  his 
revolver  with  that  intent.  When  I  hinted  that  he 
might  feel  somewhat  justified,  he  would  not  listen- 
He  had  been  mad.  If  his  wife  had  loved  another 
man  better  that  her  husband  it  did  not  give  him 
the  right  to  commit  murder.  And  it  was  Esther's 
brother,  too.  That  troubled  him  a  great  deal.  He 
had  not  seen  the  girl  since  his  arrest,  refusing  to 
allow  her  to  enter  his  cell.  He  did  not  believe  he 
could  face  her.  He  was  glad  I  had  called  and  hoped 
I  would  come  again.  I  told  him  the  way  I  had  gair  jd 
admittance,  and  urged  him  not  to  mention  my  vL;it. 
Then,  saying  he  would  hear  from  me  often,  I  went 
away. 

"  My  next  step  was  to  engage  a  lawyer.  This  law- 
yer soon  discovered  that  both  of  the  boatmen  and 
the  French  maid,  Margott  were  ready  to  swear  that 
Maybury  brained  Strange  with  his  own  hands. 


WHAT  B-iYLEY  TOLD   P±BTON.  335 

Indeed,  their  depositions  were  already  on  file  to  this 
effect.  It  was  a  hard  place  to  be  in,  I  tell  you. 
Every  person  but  Esther  who  had  seen  the  affair  were 
against  our  friend.  The  railroad  agent  and  the 
Spanish  lawyer  finally  agreed  on  one  thing.  The 
court  would  certainly  convict  the  prisoner  whenever 
he  was  brought  to  trial.  We  must  help  him  to  escape 
in  some  way." 

Dr.  Parton  couJ'l  not  help  interrupting. 

"  Do  you  say  that  Flo — I  mean  Mrs.  Maybury — 
stuck  to  the  same  story,  herself." 

"  Like  a  leech.  I  talked  to  her  about  it  repeatedly 
and  she  never  varied  her  recital  by  the  width  of  a 
hair.  She  told  me  she  was  boating  on  the  Viga  with 
her  'servants  '  when  her  husband  and  'that  woman 
of  his  '  passed  them.  Austin  had  no  warning.  May- 
bury  jumped  up  and  began  firing  at  him  a  lot  of 
pot-shots.  When  none  of  them  took  effect  on  the 
surprised  young  fellow,  the  man  sprang  into  her 
boat,  she  said,  and  dealt  Austin  a  terrible  blow  with 
a  piece  of  wood.  There  was  no  reason  that  she 
could  ascribe  for  his  conduct.  Austin  was  the  quiet- 
est, most  peaceable  boy  that  ever  lived — why,  I  had 
seen  him  enough  myself  to  know  that.  The  only 
thing  she  could  think  of  as  a  cause  for  the  assault 
was  the  fact  that  Esther  was  with  Maybury,  and  he 
might  have  feared  that  the  brother  would  remon- 
strate against  such  an  open  scandal  as  their  relations 
were  making. 

"  I  put  a  hundred  questions  to  her,  and  she  never 
turned  an  atom.  I  reminded  her  that  a  conviction 
of  her  husband  would  be  a  stain  on  her  name  and  on 
that  of  her  child,  but  to  no  effect.  She  said  the  hor- 
ror of  the  murder  had  made  such  an  impression  OR 


?.?$  TOOTO  jam  GIDDT. 

her  mind  that  she  had  lost  every  other  consideration 
in  the  feeling  that  his  crime  ought  to  be  punished. 
If  she  was  taken  before  a  tribunal  she  would  speak 
and  tell  the  truth.  I  told  her,  after  I  had  been  to 
the  prison,  what  Maybury  said,  pretending  I  had 
heard  it  from  an  outsider,  and  she  answered  that  the 
boatmen  and  Margot  were  her  witnesses.  It  was  a 
nice  mess  to  get  out  of,  wasn't  it  ?** 

Dr.  Parton  replied,  with  a  shrug  of  the  shoulders, 
that  it  was,  indeed. 

"  And  how  did  you  get  out  of  it  ?"  he  added,  with 
great  interest. 

u  Where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way,  as  you  may 
have  heard  some  one  remark.  I  merely  let  the  case 
be  tried  and  the  verdict  be  recorded.  I  don't  mean 
that  we  didn't  cross-question  those  confounded  Mex- 
ican boatmen — and  where  examinations  are  done  in 
writing,  this  takes  time  ;  but  Maybury  would  not  let 
us  call  the  only  other  witness  besides  himself  to  the 
real  reason  of  Strange 's  death.  He  said  the  lawyers 
would  be  almost  certain  to  insinuate  something 
about  her  character,  which  was  as  pure  as  the  snow 
that  is  driven.  He  wouldn't  risk  that.  He  told  his 
own  story,  and  it  was  met  with  the  oaths  of  three 
persons  that  he  was  a  liar.  A  verdict  was  recorded 
of  his  guilt  and  he  was  sentenced  to  be  shot" 

The  listener  winced,  as  he  heard  the  words.  It 
was  as  if  a  minie-ball  had  just  whistled  over  his 
shoulder,  close  to  his  ear. 

"Of  course  I  had  seen  the  girl,"  pursued  the 
narrator,  quietly.  •«  If  I  had  not  convinced  her  that 
we  would  yet  save  Maybury's  life  she  would  have 
moved  heaven  and  earth — and  perhaps  (though  it 
may  be  doubted)  the  government  at  Washington — to 


WHAT  BATLET  TOLD  FAST09T.  337 

get  him  free.  The  lawyer  and  I  persuaded  her  that 
we  could  do  more  if  she  did  not  interfere.  She  was 
a  sad  sight  those  days,  though  !  Talk  about  attach* 
ment !  She  would  have  given  her  heart's  blood 
with  the  greatest  of  good- will  for  the  man  who  had 
tried  to  kill  her  brother.  And  what  had  we  to  do  ? 
Why,  get  a  good  sized  sum  of  money,  of  coarse,  and 
put  it  where  it  would  do  the  most  good. 

"The  way  the  law  is  carried  out  in  Mexico  differs 
materially  from  the  method  practiced  in  the  United 
States.  Outside  of  military  executions  there  are 
hardly  any  legal  deaths  in  that  country  under  the 
regulation  form.  Such  offenders  as  train  robbers 
and  common  highwaymen  are  shot  at  sight  without 
the  least  compunction,  wherever  found.  Criminals 
who  are  deemed  worthy  of  a  trial  are  generally  takes 
after  sentence,  by  a  detachment  of  soldiers,  from  ooe 
prison  to  another,  and — they  neyer  arrire.  'The 
prisoner  attempted  an  escape  and  we  were  obliged 
to  fire  at  him,'  is  the  indorsement  on  the  mittamus. 
Much  better  than  to  bother  the  sheriff,  isn't  it  ? 
We  found  that  this  would  most  likely  be  the  way 
they  would  dispose  of  poor  Douglass.  It  cost  us 
two  thousand  dollars  to  get  the  programme  Taried 
in  merely  one  very  slight  particular." 

The  Architect  paused,  to  give  his  tale  toe  force  of 


"They  were  to  take  him  across  the  country  to 
another  jail,  on  a  certain  day.  According  to  custom 
he  was  to  be  shot  soon  after  they  were  out  of  sight 
of  the  city.  The  two  thousand  dollars  that  I  handed 
over  was  to  get  the  bullets  drawn  from  the  guns  that 
were  to  be  fired  at  him.  It  was  all  nicely  fixed. 
The  place  where  the  guard  would  stop  for  sapper 


338  rotrso  MM«  aroor. 

was  known  to  us.  Near  by  we  had  horses  and 
everything  else  in  readiness,  at  the  foot  of  a  ravine. 
The  prisoner  was  to  be  given  a  chance  to  run  for 
his  life  at  about  dusk.  The  guns  were  not  to  be  to* 
handy  and  when  they  had  been  fired  the  other  ar/ 
munition  was  to  be  misplaced.  It  worked  to  a  chaf  / 
The  men  not  in  the  secret  must  have  thought  th  \ 
superiors  exceedingly  stupid,  but  they  knew  enout  ^) 
to  say  nothing. 

"  My  only  fear  was  that  Maybury  would  refuse  to 
run  when  the  time  came,  for  he  was  so  absent-minded 
that  he  hardly  seemed  to  take  the  trouble  to  breathe. 
But  he  did  very  well.  He  made,  as  had  been  agreed 
upon,  toward  the  edge  of  a  lake,  in  which  it  was  to 
be  reported  that  he  had  sunk  after  being  shot. 
Darkness  was  upon  us  all  and  we  got  away  easily. 
The  guides  I  had  hired  knew  the  country.  We 
caught  a  train  for  Vera  Cruz  and  before  any  state- 
ment reached  headquarters  we  were  out  of  the 
country." 

The  physician  remarked  that  this  must  have  had 
a  very  agreeable  flavor  for  all  of  them. 

"  But  what  became  of  Miss  Esther  ?"  he  added. 

"She  was  with  us  during  the  whole  expedition, 
and  exhibited  the  greatest  fortitude.  On  the  steamer 
she  persuaded  Maybury  that  he  had  no  guilt  in 
her  eyes,  and  they  were  reconciled.  I  watched  them 
closely  for  the  next  two  days,  and  I  tell  you,  Parton, 
I  believe  in  the  virtue  of  that  girl.  I  hadn't  be- 
lieved in  it,  in  spite  of  his  assertions,  for  any  mat 
worthy  of  the  name  will  lie  to  protect  the  honor  o! 
his  sweetheart.  But  I  used  my  eyes  and  my  ears, 
when  they  had  no  idea  they  were  not  alone,  and  I 
would  wager  all  I'm  worth  on  her  chastity." 


WKAt   BATLBT    TOLD   PAETON.  339 

Dr.  Parton  could  not  help  letting  a  smile  creep 
across  his  face. 

"You'd  have  done  the  same  for  Mrs*  M.,  a  year 
ago,"  he  remarked. 

"  Well,  I  would, "acknowledged  the  other.  "  There 
aren't  many  cases  like  hers.  I  began  to  think  some- 
tiling  was  wrong,  though,  when  we  were  at  New 
Orleans.  If  you  had  been  half  the  friend  to  me  you 
pretended  you  would  have  let  me  into  that." 

The  physician  shook  his  head  sagely. 

"  If  doctors  told  all  they  know,  my  dear  fellow," 
he  said,  "  this  world  would  not  be  safe  to  live  in. 
We  are  full  of  private  information  that  would  dis- 
rupt continents.  A  priest  of  the  Catholic  church 
does  not  hear  more  important  secrets  than  the  aver- 
age family  physician.  I  couldn't  tell  you  a  word, 
and  you  would  have  gone  to  your  grave  without 
knowing  it,  for  all  of  me.  But,  about  these  platonic 
friendships,  I  am  always  sceptical.  It's  not  accord- 
ing to  human  nature.  And  what  will  be  the  ultim- 
ate result,  do  you  suppose  ?  Maybury  can't  go  on, 
traveling  up  and  down  the  earth  with  an  unmarried 
girl,  can  he  ?" 

Mr.  Bayley  smiled  quizzically. 

•'  He  can,  but  I  don't  think  he  will"  said  he. 
"  When  his  wife  learned  of  his  escape  from  death,  she 
entered  a  suit  for  divorce  on  the  ground  of  deser- 
tion. She  has  had  word  from  him  that  he  will  not 
oppose  her,  so  long  as  she  does  not  in  any  way  bring 
the  name  of  Miss  Strange  into  the  affair.  The  suit  is 
entered  in  Van  Buren,  where  she  claims  her  present 
residence.  When  it  is  granted  there  will  be  nothing, 
under  our  system  of  marriage  laws,  to  stop  him 


340  YOTTNG  MISS    GIDM. 

offering  his  hand  and  heart  to  the  girl  who  has  done 
so  much  to  win  them." 

"  Excellent  !  And  what  do  you  suppose  Mrs.  M, 
will  do  the  rest  of  her  life  ?" 

"Live  in  Mexico  and  continue  to  wear  mourning. 
She  had  an  infatuation  for  that  young  carpenter  that 
amounted  to  mania.  She  will  never  love  another  man. 
Her  residence,  that  cost  me  so  much  time  and  the 
Senator  such  a  mint  of  money,  is  in  the  market.  One 
of  the  editors  of  the  Planet  has  made  an  offer  for  it. 
I  doubt  if  she  will  ever  return.  Her  life  is  devotea 
to  the  child — his  child,  as  she  confessed  to  me  in  a 
burst  of  candor,  the  last  time  I  saw  her.  And  it  was 
on  that  confession  that  I  secured  her  consent  to  have 
Douglass  pardoned." 

Dr.  Parton  opened  his  eyes  wider. 

"  She's  a  queer  one,"  he  remarked.  "  And  about 
Charles  ?  The  same  Quixotic  philanthropist,  as 
ever  ?" 

"  Yes.  More  so  if  anything.  His  sister  positively 
refused  to  see  him  when  he  went  to  her.  A  terrible 
break-up  all  around,  isn't  it  ?  By-the-way,  do  you 
know  about  the  tomb  that  Mrs.  Maybury  has  or- 
dered for  her  lover?  It  is  to  cost  a  hundred  thou- 
sand, and  there  is  asn  inscription  to  go  upon  it  fit  for 
a  hero  and  a  martyr  !  It  will  be  erected  on  her  own 
estate  near  the  City  of  Mexico,  which  she  has  pur- 
chased for  a  permanent  residence." 

Something  in  this  caused  the  physician  to  laugh 
softly  to  himself. 

"You  are  making  a  good  thing  out  of  the  family, 
I  hope,"  he  said. 

"  Well,  not  so  bad.  I  have  charge  of  everything, 
you  know." 


A   PAKTDTO   WORD.  Ml 


A  PARTING  WORD. 

Last  winter,  when  I  was  in  Mexico,  being  one 
evening  at  Tacubaya,  my  attention  was  attracted  to 
a  handsome  American  woman,  still  young,  attired  in 
deep  mourning,  playing  for  large  stakes  at  a  roulette 
table.  One  of  the  bystanders  remarked  to  me  that 
she  frequently  lost  and  won  hundreds  of  dollars  at 
a  sitting,  and  that  she  engaged  nightly  in  the  same 
occupation. 

"  But  she  isn't  likely  to  play  long  enough  to  dis- 
sipate her  fortune,"  he  added,  in  that  familiar  way 
which  travelers  often  use  toward  each  other.  "  Her 
name  is  Mrs.Maybury.  Her  father  was  an  American 
Senator,  who  left  her  a  yearly  income  of  over  half  a 
million.  She  is  a  widow,  I  believe,  and  she  has  one 
child,  to  whom  she  is  devotedly  attached.  You 
can  see  them  riding  out  together  any  pleasant 
afternoon.  Wait  a  moment — she  always  leaves  at 
midnight." 

The  croupier  pushed  toward  the  player  a  pile  of 
notes,  thirty-six  times  the  amount  she  had  wagered 
on  one  of  the  numbers,  and  at  that  moment  a  dig- 
nified French  woman  leaned  over  the  lady's  shoulder. 

"  It  is  twelve  o'clock,"  she  said. 

"Very  well,  Saccard,"  was  the  languid  reply. 
"  Has  Margot  come  ?" 

The  Frenchwoman  indicated  an  affirmative. 

Mrs.  Maybury  rose  from  the  table,  and  Madame 
Saccard  gathered  up  the  money  that  represented  her 
winnings.  As  they  walked  toward  the  door,  a  hun- 
dred pairs  of  eyes  followed  them. 


"It  is  worth  your  while  to  watch  her  a  lutle 
longer,"  said  my  new  acquaintance.  "  Come  with 
me  to  the  entrance." 

Curiosity  led  me  to  accept  the  invitation.  A  maid 
was  waiting  with  a  carriage  for  her  mistress. 

"Did  you  see  Celeste,  just  as  you  came  away, 
Margot,"  asked  Mrs.  Maybury. 

"Oui,  madame." 

"  And  Gwendolin  was  sleeping  peacefully  ?" 

"  Parfaitement." 

A  crowd  of  ragamuffins  that  had  gathered  in  the 
vicinity  pressed  around  the  carriage.  They  wer« 
evidently  expecting  something. 

"  Saccard  !"  said  Mrs.  Maybury,  wearily. 

41  Oui,  madame." 

"Give  that  money  to  these  poor  fellows." 

The  French  woman  had  put  half  or  more  of  the 
amount  in  her  pocket,  with  a  sly  motion.  The  rest 
of  it  she  threw  to  the  rabble,  as  one  throws  offal  to 
carrion  birds.  There  was  a  scramble,  and  well  there 
might  be.  Not  less  than  a  thousand  dollars  was  in 
the  heap. 

"She  does  that  every  evening,"  whispered  the 
stranger  in  my  ear. 

As  the  carriage  we  were  watching  was  about  to  be 
driven  away,  another  arrived  and  stopped  in  front  of 
it.  A  gentleman  within  was  explaining  to  his  lady 
companion  the  character  of  the  gambling-house,  at 
which  he  had  no  intention  of  alighting.  Looking  up 
he  saw  the  face  of  faces  that  he  would  rather  not 
have  met. 

There  was  a  perceptible  shock  to  all  parties.  Mrs. 
Maybury,  who  had  been  leaning  back  on  her  cushions, 
sat  bolt  upright. 


A    r ARTIVr;    WORD.  94i 

"It's  his  old  mistress,  Saccard,"  she  said,  In  * 
voice  loud  and  harsh.  "  They  say  he  has  married 
her.  Well,  it  was  time  f" 

A  peal  of  derisive  laughter  came  from  her  vanish- 
ing carriage.  Douglass  Maybury  turned  to  the 
trembling  figure  at  his  side. 

"  Do  not  mind  her,  Esther,"  he  said.  "  She  is  to 
be  pitied  quite  as  much  as  blamed.  It  was  her 
father's  theory  that  girls  need  no  instruction  in 
morals — that  they  should  be  allowed  to  act  out  what 
is  in  them.  She  must  have  inherited  passions  which 
a  good  mother  would  have  curbed,  but  which  that 
detestable  Saccard  fanned  into  resistless  flame." 

"Yes,"  mused  Esther,  her  eyes  fulU>f  tears.  "And, 
iftcr  all,  Douglass,  she  loved  him  /" 


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